£25 Million to be Invested in North Wales Coast Railway During January 2027 Works

Network Rail has announced new details of a programme that aims to deliver ‘years’ worth of improvements’ to the North Wales Coast railway network.

Works, which will take place during a four-week closure in January 2027, will see more than 25 million GBP invested in a bid to boost reliability, capacity and safety on the route, which handles both passenger and freight services.

The programme of improvements will include engineers deployed at locations across the railway between Chester and Holyhead, renewing both track and other infrastructure – some of which has been in place for over 50 years.

In order for the work to be carried out both safely and efficiently; the North Wales Coast line will be closed for four weeks between Saturday 9 January and Saturday 6 February 2027.

During the first three weeks, the railway will be closed between Chester and Holyhead, including the Conwy Valley line and Llandudno Junction to Llandudno. During the fourth week, the closure will reduce to between Llandudno Junction and Holyhead.

Network Rail has worked with engineering teams in order to reduce the closure between Chester and Llandudno Junction from four weeks to three, and will continuing to work with its industry partners to reduce the impact of disruption for passengers and communities.

Rail replacement services will operate during the closure, with full travel arrangements expected to be announced later in the autumn.

The full set of works will include:

• Renewing track through the Grade I-listed Conwy Tubular Railway Bridge, where the existing track dates back to 1978
• Major track and drainage improvements in Bodorgan Tunnel, replacing infrastructure dating back to 1972 and helping reduce the risk of flooding
• Track renewal and ground improvements at Penmaenbach, where sections of track were last renewed in 1986
• Track and points improvements at Holyhead and Llandudno
• Platform improvements at Llandudno Junction
• Work at four level crossings, east of Bangor
• Around £1.4m of vegetation management across nine locations, alongside extensive maintenance throughout the route
• Two new fully accessible footbridges at Prestatyn and Abergele, supporting the closure of four high-risk level crossings

All work will be carried out using 22 engineering trains and specialist on-track machinery, which will oversee the delivery of over 3,000 concrete sleepers and 9,000 tonnes of ballast, whilst roughly 9,800 tonnes of spoil will be removed for recycling and used on future railway projects.

The overall investment is set to build on the introduction of the new North Wales timetable introduced in May 2026, which saw a 50% increase in Transport for Wales services – the largest timetable improvement in North Wales for a generation.

Additionally, the January closure is expected to allow Network Rail teams to carry out extra maintenance alongside the main major renewals, thereby reducing the need for repeated weekend closures during the months and years ahead.

Emma Osborn, Passenger Strategy Director at Network Rail Wales and Borders route, said:

This is a once-in-a-generation investment in the North Wales Coast railway and a huge opportunity to renew and improve infrastructure right across this vital route.

Investment on this scale inevitably means some temporary disruption while we carry out the work, and we recognise closing the railway will have an impact on customers and communities.

But by bringing years’ worth of complex work together into one intensive programme, we can deliver it more safely and efficiently, while avoiding a prolonged series of disruptive weekend closures.

The long-term benefits for passengers and freight customers will far outweigh this temporary disruption, with a safer, more reliable railway that is better equipped to support the increased number of services now running across North Wales.

We’re working closely with Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast to keep passengers moving and we thank everyone in advance for their patience while we deliver this major investment.