Cardiff rail services disruption after wall collapse
A rail line into Cardiff will be closed for up to 14 days following the collapse of a retaining wall which has caused services to be suspended.
Network Rail said the problem between Cardiff Central and Queen Street stations affects Valley line services and some main line trains.
Services affected include Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, and Rhymney.
Fans travelling to the Millennium Stadium for the Olympic Games bronze medal football match could be affected.
The wall collapse happened between both lines, spilling five tonnes of earth on to tracks.
A Network Rail spokesperson said five metres of track has been affected meaning the line will be closed for between 10 and 14 days for repairs.
There were warnings of continued disruption for Arriva Trains Wales services as follows:
- Services from Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil will be diverted via the city line to Cardiff Central and will not stop at Queen Street.
- Treherbert services will continue to Cardiff Queen Street and stop at Cardiff Bay but will not go to Cardiff Central.
- Queen Street station will be open on Friday evening until the end of service (previously it was due to close at 21.00) and services to Rhymney, Caerphilly and Coryton will operate to and from the station. Customers travelling on these services are advised to return to Cardiff Queen Street after the Olympic football game.
- First Great Western saw some earlier minor disruption but all mainline platforms at Cardiff Central and services are now operating.
A landslip was reported early on Friday morning but it later emerged a retaining wall had collapsed overnight.
The incident happened where Valley line passes the main line.
Network Rail said services on the Cardiff Valley lines were still subject to disruption and Arriva Trains Wales has issued an amended train plan for the rest of Friday and was publishing an emergency plan for the weekend.
A spokesman said the wall had given way over a span of around five metres leaving around five tonnes of rocks and earth on the tracks.
Engineers have been removing debris and also removing another part of the wall which was unsafe.
A spokesman estimated work to rebuild the wall would take between 10 and 14 days.
The spokesman added: "The landslip, between Cardiff Queen Street Station and Cardiff Central, caused a wall to partially collapse.
"A railing attached to a bridge fell and hit a train just after 21:00 BST on Thursday followed by reports of landslip from a train crew.
Trains serving fans at Friday's Olympic Games bronze medal football match between Japan and South Korea at the Millennium Stadium have been changed due to the problem.
Queen Street station will remain open later and services to Rhymney, Caerphilly and Coryton will operate to and from the station.
All other Valleys lines services will depart from Cardiff Central.
Penarth, Barry and Vale of Glamorgan services will only run between Cardiff Central.
Arriva Trains Wales advised customers to check travel updates before travelling and to allow additional journey time.