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Work has begun on a huge £220 million scheme to improve the Welsh rail network.
Split into five stages, the three-year programme will see the replacement of over 300 signals, 12 miles of track, 59 sets of points and the construction of seven additional platforms across the Cardiff and Valleys rail network.
The removal of the bottleneck between Cardiff Central and Queen Street will allow for a 25 per cent increase in passenger services, as well as more freight traffic.
Mark Langman, route managing director for Network Rail Wales, was keen to emphasise the logistical challenge of carrying out the works.
"On a network as busy as ours, this work is the equivalent of conducting open heart surgery on the railway whilst keeping daily services running with the minimum of disruption," he said.
The scheme is scheduled for completion in 2015 and will act as the first step in the electrification of the Valleys network.
Author: Editor Gavin Pearson (gpearson@acenet.co.uk or 0207 202 0255)
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