Plans for £100m train-testing centre of excellence unveiled
PLANS for a new £100m “global centre of rail excellence” have been unveiled by the Welsh Government.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates announced plans for the new facility to test trains in the UK just months after it was announced that millions will be ploughed into the new Wales & Border franchise.
The announcement comes after French transport giant Keolis and Spanish infrastructure management consultancy Amey were awarded the Wales & Border franchise from October.
There are plans to electrify 80% of the core Valley Lines into Cardiff, with these lines, that include the Aderdare, Treherbert, Merthyr and Rhymney lines, now being referred to as Central Metro. A total of £194m will be spent on station improvements, including the building of five new stations and the modernisation of all 247 existing stations on the network.
Every train in Wales will be replaced, at a cost of £800m. From 2023 some 95% of journeys will be made on new trains, half of which will be assembled in Wales.
Currently trains are sent to testing and validation facilities in Germany, at the Siemens facility in Wildenrath, and the Czech Republic in Velim near Prague.
Both facilities have oneyear waiting lists.
The new centre would mean manufacturers would not have to send trains across Europe for testing before bringing them back to the UK for service.
The new facility will include two fully electrified test ovals – a larger 7.3km oval and a smaller 3.1km oval allowing speeds of up to 160kph.
It will enable Wales to play a key role in the development of nextgeneration hydrogen and battery-powered trains as the rail industry, like the car industry, moves to decarbonise.
Infrastructure and digital rail innovation, to include next-generation signalling technology, would also be refined and developed there.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates said: “Last year Welsh Government and CAF announced the first modern train manufacturing facility to be built here. The factory is nearing completion and trains for use in Wales will soon be built there.
“Earlier this month I announced details of the new, transformative, lowcarbon Wales & Borders rail service.
“From a standing start a few years ago, Wales is now developing as a home for our domestic rail industry.
“There is more we can do. I want our country recognised across the UK and Europe as a major hub.
“Our Economic Action Plan signalled a new approach to creating opportunities for developing our economy. I’m now signalling the next chapter of implementation of that plan.”
There are a number of potential locations for the centre, with the mothballed opencast mine in Nant Helen, on the Powys and Neath Port Talbot border, and the adjacent and operational coal washery site in Onllwyn being considered.
Mr Skates added: “This area, at the top of the Dulais Valley, has been reliant on the coal industry for generations. With this era drawing to a close, there is great potential for investment drawing on existing and new skills.
“This is also a project that could make an important contribution to the work of the Valleys Taskforce, providing good-quality jobs and the skills to do them.
“I have therefore instructed Welsh Government officials to move to the next stage of business case development, which will involve continued and close partnership working.
“We estimate a bespoke facility like this will cost £100m to deliver and it is not a project that can proceed without local support, private sector investment and the commitment of manufacturers, rolling stock companies, network operators and a range of other stakeholders to back it now and into the future.
“I’m not in the business of over-promising and under-delivering. But I am saying that if we can consolidate the very considerable levels of enthusiasm communicated to us, we will commit our best endeavours to the next stages of this project – working towards the completion of this exciting, integrated global centre of rail excellence.”