Welsh Government can help with electrification plans
I read with interest the report on the cancellation of the promised Cardiff-Swansea (and East Midlands and Windermere) electrification schemes, and the suggestion that Cardiff Valleys electrification may be in doubt.
Happily, the South Wales Metro as a whole is not a matter for Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling to decide. The scheme is under the jurisdiction of the Welsh Government, which has the funds assured to pay for the whole scheme except for one item - the stretch from Cardiff to Bridgend, which was to be part of the UK-financed Cardiff-Swansea scheme.
The line from Cardiff to Bridgend currently serves three intermediate stations, to which two or perhaps three were to be added upon electrification - certainly Brackla and St Fagans, and possibly Miskin Parkway.
Without the acceleration afforded by electric trains it is doubtful whether the proposed half-hourly service from Maesteg (via Bridgend) is viable. The hourly service is already one of the most overcrowded serving Cardiff, which also suffers from unbearable road congestion.
The loss of the Cardiff-Swansea wires is of greater consequence to the Maesteg-Cardiff Metro line (with two electric trains per hour) than to the hourly SwanseaCardiff-London trains, which run non-stop from Bridgend (Swansea has a half-hourly London service only in the morning peak). It is already reported that the Welsh Government may have to borrow the money itself to fill the Cardiff-Bridgend gap, to ensure completion of the Metro plan.
I do not think that electrification of the Cardiff Valleys lines (the South Wales Metro) is in doubt, as the South Wales Metro is the major infrastructure project - with economic and employment consequences - of both the Welsh Government and the Cardiff City Region of ten local authorities, which has concluded a City Deal with the UK Government.
The Welsh Government has the power to appoint the next Wales & Borders franchisee, which will not only run the franchise from October 2018 onwards but also (as part of its bid) propose and build a design for the South Wales Metro.
It will have liberty to suggest an entirely heavy rail solution using (no doubt) 25kV electrification throughout, or a light rail scheme using a lower voltage for most of the routes but with dual-voltage trains able to pass through Cardiff Central. This will be served by 25kV wiring (as will the route to Bridgend to the west and Newport and STJ to the east).
The invitations to bid are with the four interested groups at the moment and their proposals are expected shortly. The South Wales Metro must be an electrified system, as it will serve stations at frequent intervals needing rapid acceleration.
Michael L N Jones, Cardiff