The railway between Newport and Cardiff Central will be shut from late on Friday 20 March through the weekend as Network Rail carries out vital upgrades on the South Wales Main Line, with buses replacing trains during the closure.

Passengers using the route are urged to check before travelling in March while essential track renewals are undertaken to keep services for passengers and freight safe and reliable. Work is scheduled from Monday 16 to Sunday 22 March, with teams replacing sections of track on one of South Wales' busiest corridors.

To deliver the upgrades safely, fewer tracks will be available between Newport and Cardiff Central during the week, meaning timetable alterations for services run by Transport for Wales (TfW), GWR and CrossCountry.

The railway will be fully closed between Newport and Cardiff Central from 23:00 Friday 20 March to 05:00 Monday 23 March, when engineers complete the most intensive phase of work. During this period, buses will replace trains.

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Separate engineering between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay on Sunday 22 March will also affect some Cardiff Valley Lines services, with rail replacement buses operating on several routes.

Nick Millington, Route Director for Network Rail Wales and Borders, said: "Renewing the track between Newport and Cardiff is essential to keeping this busy stretch of railway safe and reliable for the passengers and freight services that rely on it every day.

"We've worked closely with our train operating partners to keep services running during the week, with some timetable alterations, while carrying out the most intensive work over the weekend.

"We know this will affect journeys and we apologise for the disruption it may cause. Our teams will be working as quickly and safely as possible to complete these vital upgrades, and we thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this important work."

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at TfW, said: "We're encouraging all passengers travelling between Cardiff and Newport to check their journey in advance, as many of our services will be affected throughout the weekend. This includes trains to Manchester, Holyhead, Cheltenham, Ebbw Vale, Maesteg and some Valleys services on Sunday."

To keep people moving, TfW will run a comprehensive rail replacement service, with buses operating roughly every five minutes between Cardiff and Newport and staff available throughout the weekend to assist customers.