Freight to keep running during seven-week Severn Estuary works

Almost fifty weekly freight trains will continue to run on a section of the railway closing to passenger services during a seven-week engineering programme. The Severn Estuary line between Gloucester and the Welsh border town of Newport urgently needs work to stabilise steep cuttings and protect the line from potential floodwaters. The works, to be carried out over the summer, will see passenger services suspended, but vital freight traffic will be allowed to run overnight.