Passengers will use replacement buses until the weekend

Work on signalling on the main line between Swansea and Cardiff should have ended on Easter Monday.

The work has overrun and thousands of passengers on many south Wales routes will continue to use replacement buses until the weekend.

Network Rail said the line would be partially reopened on Friday before full services resumed on Saturday.

The work is also causing disruption for rail travellers from Cardiff to London with trains only running once an hour - rather than every half hour - as a direct result.

Arriva Trains Wales said an hourly service would run between Cardiff and Swansea via the Vale of Glamorgan line on Friday but there would still be some replacement bus services operating.

Commercial director, Mike Bagshaw said normal services would resume next week.

I thought the work was going to be finished on the weekend Passenger Matthew Farnham

"We would still advise our passengers to give themselves extra time to complete their journey as the service will still be limited," he said of Friday's service.

First Great Western said it hoped to operate a "very limited service" between Swansea and Cardiff on Friday, with extended journey times of up to 60 minutes.

Evening peak time services from London Paddington to south Wales were subject to cancellations and services terminating at Cardiff.

Network Rail, the body which owns Britain's rail infrastructure, is carrying out work as part of a �400m investment in improving train services across south Wales.

In pictures: Rail disruption It's a bit of a shambles

A spokesman said a "full investigation" would take place into the cause of the overrun.

Work on the Port Talbot East signalling project, a 22-mile stretch of line running from Llantrisant to Baglan, was meant to take place across the bank holiday between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

But on Monday it was announced that delays in testing meant that buses would still replace trains on Tuesday, before Network Rail announced on Wednesday the stretch would remain closed.

All Arriva Trains Wales services running between Swansea, Bridgend and Cardiff on Thursday were replaced by bus services, while long distance First Great Western services starting and terminating at Cardiff Central station, with replacement bus services running to Swansea, Bridgend, Port Talbot and Neath.

Hundreds of engineers were working ti complete the work

Passengers at Cardiff Central station said they were annoyed with the disruption to services, with many complaining of a lack of clear information about the changes.

Anne Gwynn, who is visiting family in Gower from her home in Milan, said: "I had no idea this was going to happen until I bought my tickets.

"The bus to Swansea was full when I got here so I had a 40-minute wait to the next one."

Kate Crowther, 25, a tourist from New Zealand travelling from London to Carmarthen, said: "I've travelled on trains across Europe and it's only the times I've visited Wales I've had problems like this."

Network Rail apologised for the continued disruption and said continued testing of the new signalling system was required before it could become fully operational.

Robbie Burns, Network Rail's western route director, said: "Hundreds of engineers have been working round the clock to finish testing the new signalling system."

Necessary

Arriva Trains Wales and First Great Western have both previously apologised to passengers, but many travellers at Cardiff said they had little sympathy with the rail companies.

Matthew Farnham, 25, who travels from Pencoed to work at the Abbey bank in Pontypridd, said: "I thought the work was going to be finished on the weekend and was annoyed when I got to the station early yesterday morning to find I had to catch a bus.

"They had the bank holiday to do it and now it's going to run five days over."

But Julie Gallagher, who had taken her children Marcus Woolley, 14, Karl Wooley, 12, and Chelsie Gallagher, 8, to Bristol Zoo from Swansea, said the work was a "pain" but was necessary.

She added: "It's got to be done - this is better than if a train crashed."

Details of changes to services are available from National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.