WORKS to prevent landslips that have plagued part of the rail line through the Forest will start soon.

The £25 million investment to stabilise cliffs near Awre will be begin at 7am Monday, July 18.

The line will be closed until 6pm on Saturday, September with a bus service between Lydney and Gloucester.

The closure will extend to Severn Tunnel Junction to allow essential track renewal work to take place near Chepstow until Saturday, July 30.

More than 30,000 tonnes of material will be removed from the cliff face before 27,000 square metres of mesh can be installed along three miles of track.

This will stabilise the cliff face and prevent landslips from affecting the track below. 

There were five major incidents on this section of the Gloucester to Newport line in 2020-21 alone.

Steve Corcoran, chief executive of contractors Taziker, said: “Our expert teams have created a system of works that will not only protect the line for passengers from future landslips, but also protect the local community and environment while the work is undertaken using green energy supplies, investing in the local economy and minimising disruption where possible.”

The 70 workers on site will have their lunch supplied by Joshua’s Catering of Lydney and cabins and lighting will be powered by solar panels.

Nick Millington, acting route director at Net work Rail Wales and Border said: “I recognise there’s never an ideal time to close the railway, but we’ve done everything we can to minimise disruption for passengers and freight services while we carry out this work, which will make passengers’ journey much more reliable in the future.”