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Rail services on the Rhymney and Ebbw Valley lines will continue to be disrupted until early April because of train safety checks.

Transport or Wales has withdrawn a number of its Class 175 trains for maintenance checks after a number of fires were caused by mechanical issues.

The rail operator had hoped the trains would be back in service by Friday March 10, and then March 17.

The maintenance checks have found that some of the trains need further repairs to the engines before they come back into passenger service.

As a result, disruption to passenger services is likely to continue into early April.

There is no service and no rail replacement bus between Newport and Crosskeys, while there will also be reduced service on some routes on the core Valley lines – which include Rhymney.

There will also be service disruption across the Wales and Borders network.

Passengers are being asked to check with TfW before travelling.

Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Chief Operations Officer at TfW, said: “An initial supply of materials is available for the repair programme, and further parts are being sourced from overseas to speed up the process. The position will improve each week, and the completion of the repair programme is expected to go into April.

“Whilst this leaves us with a temporary shortage of rolling stock, other fleets are being spread out across the Wales and Borders network, and timetables have been adjusted to try and impact the fewest number of passengers.

“We’re very sorry for the disruption to customers’ journeys while we carry out this essential work.”