Residents report taking 90 minutes to travel five miles as roadworks and rail works clash

Some residents have reported taking 90 minutes to travel five miles after water works and rail works clashed. One of the main road in the Cardiff suburb of Llanishen is set to be closed for two weeks to allow updates to be made to a clean drinking water pipe.

The main railway line in the area has also been closed to allow Metro work to be carried out and replacement buses have been using the roads instead. Initial underground investigations found that major work needed to be carried out on the pipes underneath Fidlas Road and a full closure was needed from Monday, October 26 to Sunday, November 10.

There has been criticism of why both sets of works are being carried out at the same time. One angry resident said:" I left work in town at 4pm and got home to Thornhill at 5.45pm." Another said: "It has been a total nightmare especially at rush hours, and it is only going to get worse next week when the schools go back after half term."

Another said: "Whose idea was it closing a main thoroughfare and replacing trains with buses in the same area, and during half term?"

Transport for Wales has said that the work on the railway line was due to finish by the end of Friday. A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: “Due to essential upgrades to the track and signalling system at Cardiff Queen Street, buses replace trains between Cardiff Central and Rhymney until the close of service on Friday November 1.

“This work is essential to deliver the South Wales Metro so we can run more services and introduce brand new electric trains onto our network soon.

“Late evening rail services on the Rhymney Line also resume from Saturday November 2, following recent rail replacement buses after 8pm due to overnight engineering work.”

A message from the local highways team to local resident said: "Whilst we fully appreciate a closure will cause delays to the area, Its been agreed that to minimise this as much as possible was to have one week in the October half term and one week outside so from October 26 until November 10, then reverting to two way lights for a further two weeks to fully complete the scheme, which will be manually controlled at peak times.

"We are liaising closely with our school transport team and all bus operators, DCWW have agreed to cover all additonal costs and also covering the additonal vehicles that will be utilised to facilitate a diversion for public transport.

"We are monitoring the works and making changes accordingly when required but unfortunately many locals are not adhering to the diversion routes, but we need to ensure they utilise the closure as much as possible whilst maintaining safety for all users."

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: "The closure was agreed and planned well before we were aware of the bus replacement services and it is in place until Sunday November 10. All bus operators were made aware well before the closure was implemented so they could carry out their own communications to their passengers regarding their services."

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “This work will be completed by November 10 and we have worked collaboratively with Cardiff Highways to plan this section of the work and agreed that half term was the best option when there is reduced traffic.

“The community has been updated about the planned closure and we’ve put on extra bus services to help customers get around the works.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused while these essential works to upgrade the local water network are carried out.”