Station upgrade and hourly link to London among railway proposals
FRESH details have emerged of the proposed new rail passenger service between South Wales and London which aims to provide passengers with new hourly trains on the route.
Grand Union Trains, which wants to launch its hourly services in May 2021, has revealed it could also convey urgent medical consignments for the NHS, with the service being expanded by 2023 to include Llanelli and Swansea.
The operators are also offering to invest in upgrading Severn Tunnel Junction station, which would gain direct trains to and from London.
The proposals include a new access road to the station from the nearby M4, which could help relieve the crowded motorway around Newport and address traffic problems in the village of Rogiet.
Grand Union has applied to the Office of Rail and Road for permission to run a train every two hours between Cardiff Central and London Paddington from May 2021, using electric trains previously deployed on the main line between London and Edinburgh.
In May 2023, the service would be expanded to run every hour, and would start from Llanelli, using new Hitachi trains such as the ones now operated by Great Western Railway.
The service would call at Swansea but omit all stations from there to Cardiff Central.
The operation would be based in Wales, with the full service creating about 150 full-time jobs.
Grand Union is working with express freight specialist InterCity RailFreight to develop the option of carrying parcels, including urgent biological consignments for the health service.
InterCity RailFreight has been using scheduled passenger trains since 2013 to convey time-critical medical samples between the East Midlands and London, reducing the time between a sample being obtained and the clinic receiving the test results.
The company has developed a “chain of custody” system for bioscience consignments, some of which require temperate control. The system is designed to predict and manage the impacts of any hold-ups on the railways.
Grand Union managing director Ian Yeowart said the company aimed to create a parcel concentration hub at one Welsh station.
“Severn Tunnel Junction, when upgraded, would appear to offer the best hub location, but if the process is successful then further hubs could be located at many stations,” he said. “There would also need to be a facility at the London end, but that could be off the station.”
He said it was envisaged that any other train operators could use the hubs.
Parcels could also be loaded on to trains at rail stations without parcel hubs.
The service would probably be aimed at businesses rather than repli
cating the old Red Star service, where the public could send express parcels by train.
Parcels would be stored securely in dedicated spaces on the trains.
“Severn Tunnel Junction as a real parkway station is a key component of the service offer, which is why we have earmarked a significant sum for investment there,” said Mr Yeowart.
In July, the possibility of creating direct access to Severn Tunnel Junction from the M4 took a leap forward when it emerged that the UK Government had not given any assurances that GWR trains will stop at the proposed new Llanwern park-and-ride station.
The additional station stop would worsen journey times for existing passengers, whereas many trains already stop at Severn Tunnel Junction station.