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£10m operation starts to clear Cambrian Coast railway

21 Jan 14 Railway engineers are working to re-open the Cambrian Coast line following recent storm damage.

Storm damage at Llanaber, Harlech
Storm damage at Llanaber, Harlech

The railway is has been closed for more than a week between Dovey Junction and Pwllheli due to severe damage at a number of locations, including Tywyn, Barmouth and Criccieth.

Emergency works to get it back open again have been costed at £10m.

The railway along the coast was battered by the high tides and storm surge resulting in damage to sea defences and embankments. Rail ballast was lost to the sea and debris including rocks and boulders litter the line.

Efforts to inspect the line and assess the damage were initially hampered by the continuing severe weather and high tides. Network Rail engineers brought in a specialist helicopter for aerial surveys of the damage. Following detailed on the ground inspections over the last week, a strategy is now in place to re-open the line.

Given the scale of damage, Network Rail plans phased approach to re-open the line. Repair work in the Tywyn area allows the line to re-open as far as Barmouth. The current estimate is that this section will be open by Monday 10th February 2014.

The line onwards from Barmouth to Pwllheli suffered more damage and is likely to take until mid-May before it is fully running again.

Mark Langman, route managing director for Network Rail Wales, said: "This has been an extremely challenging period, but the rebuilding operation is underway and our priority is to safely re-open the railway as soon as is possible.”

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