A STUNNING UK railway route has officially welcomed back passengers for their journeys – following a £1.4m revamp.
Although this route spans only 26 miles, the overall stretch takes approximately an hour to complete.
The Conwy Valley Line runs across Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, showcasing breathtaking Welsh scenery including waterfalls and rolling hillsides.
On Monday, October 27, the popular railway line welcomed back its passengers.
Network Rail carried out four weeks worth of intensive engineering work.
This forms part of a £1.4million scheme, intended to strengthen the railway’s resilience during harsh weather conditions.
Furthermore, crews have cleared 600,000m2 of vegetation and removed dangerous trees along a track spanning 54 miles.
It is hoped that this will stop fallen trees obstructing the line in the event of a future storm.
In addition to this, Network Rail also tested out an innovative new rail treatment for the Conwy Valley Line.
A gel solution was applied to the rails, which is hoped to break down leaf contamination.
Overall, this gel remains effective for up to seven days before then reactivating with rain.
Network Rail said in a statement: “The Conwy Valley line is one of the most picturesque in Wales, but also one of the most weather-exposed.
“In the past decade, storms have forced the line to close for more than 500 days – disrupting passengers and the transportation of freight goods.”
Describing the rail line, an enthusiastic passenger wrote on TripAdvisor: “It’s utterly spectacular and crams more into an hour than the ECML does into four.
“One of the nicest little tours you can do in the UK is a loop of Chester-Llandudno Jn-Blaenau-Porthmadog-Machynlleth-Shrewsbury-Chester, though you’ll probably need to use a bus rather than the FfR for the middle bit at present.”
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Earlier this month, Brits planning to head home for Christmas were warned to brace for weeks of rail chaos.
Commuters and holidaymakers will face more than a fortnight of disruption from Christmas Day through to the New Year.
This will see major stations all caught in the crossfire of an engineering shutdown.
Network Rail says the work will boost the power supply to trains and strengthen the railway’s foundations, but passengers can expect plenty of pain before the gain.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that a new £2.7million train station is coming to the UK – in a huge boost for a tiny mining town.
A revised plan to modernise train travel in the north of Newcastle-under-Lyme was completed and awaiting council approval.
Developed by East Midlands Railway and National Rail – the £2.7m project is backed by Kidsgrove Town Deal Board.
From the 18th century, Kidsgrove grew around coal mining, although the pits have now closed.
The original proposals for the new railway were scrapped due to historical mining issues which would have cost up to £13 million to sort out.
A revised project to upgrade its railway station is only awaiting formal approval from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council reported RailBusinessDaily.