NO trains will serve Abergavenny during its annual food festival due to works to build a new footbridge at the railway station. 

Around 25,000 ticket holders are expected to attend festival events over the weekend and organisers are due to meet with Network Rail which has a series of long planned engineering works taking place on the Marches line, between Newport and Shrewsbury, during September. 

Abergavenny Food Festival said it was informed by Network Rail, and train operator Transport for Wales, on August 7 works have been scheduled across three weekends in September including when the festival is taking place. Network Rail said the work has been planned over a two year period. 

Rail replacement buses will be running but Monmouthshire MP Catherine Fookes said she fears a lack of trains will only add to higher than usual traffic volumes over the festival weekend of Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22 and replacement buses could get stuck in traffic. 

She has requested works at Abergavenny are postponed for a week so the station can remain in use. 

In a letter the Labour MP described the new footbridge and lift, to make Abergavenny station accessible including to those with physical disabilities, as “much anticipated and required”. 

But she said: “It is a priority for the local economy, those who rely on the festival for business, and the thousands of attendees that Abergavenny be accessible on the weekend of the festival as possible. This would require the station being open and in full use.” 

An artist's impression of how the new footbridge at Abergavenny trains station could look. An artist's impression of how the new footbridge at Abergavenny trains station could look. (Image: Network Rail)

Replacement bus services will run on September 7 and 8, September 14 and 15 and the final weekend of the engineering works, that clash with the festival, with buses calling at all stops, in both directions, on the line including Abergavenny. 

Martha Roberts, co-chair of the food festival board said: ‘We are glad to say that we have a meeting arranged with Network Rail in the next few days and hope to find a solution that works for everyone. 

“In the meantime, we have a large car park at the festival and replacement buses will be running from neighbouring rail stations for those arriving by train.” 

A Network Rail spokesperson said it only closes a railway “reluctantly” and recognised the inconvenience. 

The spokesman said: “We have planned to close the railway between Newport and Shrewsbury during three weekends in September to undertake a major programme of investment, which will make our railway more accessible and reliable. This includes the construction of an accessible footbridge at Abergavenny, which will provide step-free access for all rail users for generations to come. 

“This work, which has been planned over a two-year period, has to factor in a number of major events in Wales and beyond, and takes careful and meticulous planning. 

“We and our partners at Transport for Wales are working closely with the organisers of Abergavenny Food Festival to minimise the impact of the line closure.” 

Other works planned on the festival weekend include preparation for structural works south of Abergavenny and renewing more than 700 metres of track and other upgrades in Herefordshire. Work has also had to be planned alongside scheduled closures of the Severn Tunnel, and the Newport to Gloucester line. 

Ms Fookes had shared a letter she sent to Transport for Wales on social media but said she would also make contact with Network Rail that has responsibility for planning the works. 

The accessible footbridge at Abergavenny station is due to be completed in early 2025.