Some major sections of the rail network including the area around Newport will be shut down over the Christmas and new year period because of engineering work, Network Rail (NR) has said.
There will be 28 separate pieces of engineering work on Sunday December 27 while there will be 21 on December 28, then 16 on December 29 and 15 on December 30.
But NR said that 8,000 more trains will run over the festive period than in the Christmas/new year 2008/09 period and that there will be 33% fewer replacement buses.
Rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus welcomed the promise of less disruption this Christmas but said it was "regrettable" that the work affecting travel to and from South Wales was taking place over the festive period.
The Network Rail press release states "Bristol to Newport - 27/12 to 03/01 - the first phase of the £150m Newport area improvement scheme, which will deliver more reliable services for passengers throughout the region, will be completed over the Christmas break. The job entails modernising signal equipment, extensive rebuilding of tracks around Severn Tunnel Junction station and the building of a new platform. Preparatory work for the redevelopment of Newport Station ready for the Ryder Cup is also taking place. As a result the rail route into South Wales from Bristol and Gloucester will be closed over the Christmas / New Year period although four other routes into Wales from England remain open".
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