M4 bridge and tunnel closures to cause disruption in Wales this week

Due to essential maintenance, trains between Wales and England and a section of the M4 will be heavily affected

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20:20, 15 JUL 2024

Travellers between south Wales and England are set for more disruption in the coming days. Great Western Railway (GWR) revealed in June that due to "track renewal and essential drainage work" there will be no direct trains running between south Wales and Bristol for a number of days this week.

While GWR services will operate as usual between Pembroke Dock and Newport, services via the Severn Tunnel will be affected. Trains from south Wales to London will be rerouted via Gloucester, bypassing Bristol Parkway entirely. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.

The disruption is scheduled until Thursday (July 18) and then again on the weekend of July 27 and 28. Limited replacement buses will be available between Bristol Parkway and Newport but only on Sundays. Those needing to reach Bristol Parkway from south Wales will have to go past Gloucester before heading back south and west towards Bristol.

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As for the roads, on some dates starting from Monday (July 15) night, the only route between south Wales and England will be via what's the old Severn Bridge (the M48). That's due to partial closures on the Prince of Wales Bridge - more details can be seen below:

On Monday and Tuesday this week, the westbound side of the Prince of Wales Bridge will be closed between 10pm and 6am the following morning. Meanwhile, the eastbound side will be reduced to just one lane.
On Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, the eastbound side of the bridge will be closed between 9pm and 6am.
On the evening of Saturday July 20, motorists are advised that the M4's westbound carriageway will be completely closed from 10pm.
The following day, Sunday July 21, starting at 6am, there will be a two-lane contraflow system in place for both directions and a reduced speed limit on the bridge, which is expected to last throughout the summer.
The following weekend, on Saturday, July 27, the westbound carriageway will be shut between 10pm and 6am the following morning.

A spokesperson for GWR has issued a statement regarding the impact on rail services: "Track renewal and essential drainage work will affect all train services via the Severn Tunnel with no direct trains between Bristol and South Wales. Trains between London and South Wales will be diverted via Gloucester and as a result these services won't stop at Bristol Parkway. A limited number of trains will be running between Bristol Parkway and London Paddington in the morning and the evening only."

"Trains will run between Bristol Parkway and Portsmouth Harbour via Bristol Temple Meads, plus between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton, Plymouth or Penzance. Other train services will still be running between Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway and Gloucester - change at Gloucester for trains to South Wales. Transport for Wales and CrossCountry train services to/from South Wales via Gloucester or Cheltenham Spa are unaffected by the Severn Tunnel closure."

A spokesman for National Highways said: "We’ll need some overnight closures as our work progresses to allow us to move the contraflow, ensuring we can carry out work across the full width of the carriageway. We’re resurfacing and carrying out concrete repairs on the Prince of Wales Bridge that carries the M4 over the Severn Estuary. We’ll start with some overnight closures in July for preparation work and to set up the contraflow.

"The contraflow will then be in place until our work is finished. This is currently expected to be at the end of autumn, but we’ll be doing everything we can to get the work done as quickly as possible. Doing this work in the summer reduces the risk of the M48 bridge being closed due to weather, providing an alternative route for anyone crossing the river."