Engineers say it could take months to repair the damage

The flooding which left a trail of destruction in the Conwy Valley in north Wales has caused more misery with the announcement that a stretch of railway line will be closed for several months.

Network Rail said the line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno was "a complete washout."

Network Rail said it had begun the "mammoth task" of rebuilding the railway.

Earthwork engineer Gerry Manley said: "This is going to be a long job."

Torrential rain wreaked havoc in many areas of Wales last week.

Among the worst affected were the Conwy Valley communities of Llanrwst and the village of Trefriw, where three people had to be winched to safety in a dramatic helicopter rescue from a lorry trapped in 5 ft of water.

Entire communities were cut off, homes were destroyed and countless roads became impassable as the River Conwy burst its banks.

North Llanrwst station resembled a canal rather than a railway when water levels reached the top of the platform.

It was only after the water levels started to drop that Network Rail engineers realised the extent of the damage on other parts of the line.

"Mammoth task"

Over the ten mile stretch between Tal-y-Cafn and Betws-y-Coed there are about 20 places where the embankment has been washed away, leaving the track dangling in mid-air.

The ballast supporting the track and the ground underneath it ended up in nearby fields, exposing stretches of track up to 40 metres long with gaping holes underneath, some three metres deep.

"We'll work flat out to get it done as quickly as possible but we could be talking a couple of months before trains are running again," said Mr Manley.

Arriva Trains Wales said the line would not reopen until May and a bus service would be provided between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Iwan Williams, chairman of the Llanrwst Community, Business and Tourism Council, said: "It is going to affect the tourism trade over Easter."

He said railway commuters would also suffer.

"But I don't think it's going to affect business that much and there is a good bus service in the area."

Further rail information is available by calling national rail enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.