Flooding: Christmas rail travel resuming in south Wales

Rail travellers found blank destination boards at Cardiff Central railway station

Rail services in and out of south Wales are resuming after being hit by flooding on Saturday morning.

Passengers were initially told to avoid travel but Arriva Trains Wales now say its services are running, although delays can be expected.

A signalling problem in Cardiff, which had also stopped trains between the capital and Newport, has been fixed.

Roads and properties in parts of south Wales have also suffered from flooding with fire crews pumping out water.

And a 50mph speed limit is in place on much of the M4 in south Wales due to surface spray, while Environment Agency Wales has five flood warnings in place.

Anyone travelling by rail is advised to check the Arriva Trains Wales website before travelling, as its services have resumed but disruption is expected for the rest of Saturday.

Closure of the line between Cardiff Airport and Llantwit Major was soon extended from Swansea to Newport as more flooding hit the network.

A spokesman said: "We appreciate what an important travel day today is, and we would like to apologise for the disruption experienced by passengers.

"We would like to thank passengers for their patience.

"Some Network Rail signalling equipment was flooded and damaged, and they worked as quickly as they could to isolate and repair the fault."

Network Rail said a blown transformer at Central Cardiff station at 09:40 GMT knocked out signalling in the Cardiff area but it is not yet known if flooding was the problem.

People could canoe in the road at Boverton in the Vale of Glamorgan

A spokesman said: "All signals and services are back up and running and we should have, more or less, a normal service up and running in the next few hours."

On the roads, fire crews have been called to deal with localised flooding at St Athan and Boverton in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was called out to around 45 flooding incidents on Saturday morning, including at some two dozen homes on Gower, Swansea, and in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

In Swansea, a wall collapsed in Clifton Place, with an estimated 30 tons of rubble and soil falling on to a footpath. No-one was injured.

The A474 in Briton Ferry, Neath Port Talbot, is closed in both directions due to flooding. Emergency services are in attendance and diversions are in place.

Landslip

A4118 in Parkmill on Gower is closed due to flooding, as is the A4136 Staunton Road in Staunton, Monmouthshire, due to flooding and a landslip.

Fire crews have pumped out flooded homes in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan

The Met Office has issued an amber flood warning for south Wales, advising people to be prepared for localised flooding from rivers and surface water.

Environment Agency Wales has put flood warnings in place for River Ely at St Fagans in Cardiff; Ewenny, Vale of Glamorgan, on the River Ewenny; Solva on the River Solva and the River Ritec at Tenby, in Pembrokeshire; the Lower Dee Valley from Llangollen, Denbighshire, to Chester.

It means flooding in these areas is expected and 36 less serious flood alerts are in place elsewhere where flooding is possible.

Weather forecasters predict heavy rain for much of Saturday, with up to 50mm (2ins) falling on already saturated ground and swollen rivers.

The rain is due to slowly ease overnight with most places becoming dry by Sunday morning.