The Heart of Wales railway line has fully reopened on the stretch out of Powys after engineers helped avert "an environmental disaster".
The line, which runs from Shrewsbury to Swansea, has been closed at Llangennech since August last year when a 25-wagon freight train derailed passing through the Carmarthenshire village.
The incident saw 350,000 litres of diesel spilled into the ground, causing major concern for local wildlife in the area.
Now the disruption for commuters is at an end – and the environmental disaster has been averted.
Freight services began running on Friday, and passenger services began again today – albeit with a reduced timetable because of Covid.
The work to restore the line has seen ground teams from Network Rail, Natural Resources Wales, Adler and Allan and partner agencies put in a total 37,500 hours of work to protect the local environment, remove the huge wagons from the site and repair a large stretch of damaged railway.
30,000 tonnes of contaminated soil have been excavated from 150 metres of railway, at a depth of two metres and width of 20 metres. That soil has been replaced with new, clean material from quarries in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, with the fuel-soaked soil taken to a licensed waste management facility in Merthyr.
In the final few weeks of the recovery, Network Rail worked to fit around 530 metres of new track before reinstalling the signalling, which was damaged in the fire.
Bill Kelly, Network Rail Wales route director, said: “I am delighted that we have reached the final stages of our work to reinstate the railway following one of the biggest environmental recovery operations Network Rail has ever been involved with.
“It is thanks to our quick-thinking frontline teams, along with our partner agencies, that the fuel spill was able to be contained so swiftly, allowing us to prevent what could have been a total environmental disaster.
“Our teams have worked non-stop for the past six months and their dedication has paid off.
“We can confidently say the measures we have taken will protect the local environment for generations to come.”
Natural Resources Wales, who compared the scale of the incident to the Sea Empress disaster, of 1996, will continue to monitor the shellfish and wider environment over the coming months.
Martyn Evans, chair of the recovery coordination group, Natural Resources Wales, said: “The re-opening of the railway line at Llangennech is a huge milestone in what has been a complex, challenging and ultimately successful recovery operation at a location of international environmental significance, coordinated by Natural Resources Wales.
“A wide range of partners have shown brilliant teamwork in working together to overcome many challenges and reduce these impacts through a Recovery Coordination and Tactical Group operating within the framework of the Dyfed Powys Local Resilience Forum.
“There have been far-reaching impacts on the environment – on land and in the sea, the community of Llangennech, local businesses, particularly the shellfisheries, tourism and industry. Happily, most of these impacts have now been overcome and activities restored, although our work and support for some of these groups is on-going."
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