New lines and stations among the Welsh government’s rail plans for south east
THE Welsh Government’s rail priorities for south east Wales have been revealed in official assessments of proposed upgrades, new lines and stations – including a possible tram terminus outside Cardiff Castle.
The assessments also indicate that a promised “rapid transit link” for north west Cardiff – where thousands of new homes are planned as part of the Plasdwr development – may be relegated to “future phases” of the South Wales Metro programme.
Concerns have previously been expressed about extra congestion on the city’s roads if the new residents are not given a fast public transport alternative to the car.
Bids for the next 15-year Wales and Borders franchise were submitted last month but the government said it would keep the tender documents secret until after the winning operator had been selected in the spring.
However, Phase 2 of the South Wales Metro – included in the franchise – was recently assessed by transport consultants to gauge its potential impact on the environment, equalities, health and heritage sites.
Metro Phase 1, based on the plans of the defunct regional transport consortium Sewta, is mostly complete.
The 33 maps produced for the assessments show the lines from Cardiff to Rhymney, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Treherbert and Cardiff Bay being converted to light rail operation.
These are the only schemes which are marked as “included in Phase 2”.
The light rail conversions are not cast in stone.
The three franchise bidders – Abellio, Keolis Amey and MTR – have been given the flexibility to propose other solutions, which could include retaining heavy rail on the Valley Lines.
Light rail would replace Sprinter trains with modern trams or lightweight trains like those of the Tyne and Wear Metro and London’s Metropolitan Line.
The next tier of priority relates to schemes for “possible inclusion in Phase 2 or follow-up phases”.
They include: Light rail diverging from the Pontypridd-Cardiff line and using tram tracks along Park Place to reach a terminus outside Cardiff Castle;
Extending the Cardiff Bay line along Bute Place to Porth Teigr;
A new line from Cardiff Central to the Bay via Dumballs Road and joining the Porth Teigr extension near Merchant Place;
A new station at Loudon Square on the existing Cardiff Bay line, with a connection to the Dumballs Road line;
Other new light rail stations at Upper Boat, Nantgarw, Gabalfa, Maindy, Wedal Road and Victoria Park;
A light rail line from Pontyclun to Llantrisant and Creigiau, mostly on a disused railway route;
Converting the Penarth line to light rail (on-street through Grangetown) and extending it to Forrest Road, using the route of the former railway to Sully;
Light rail from Ystrad Mynach to Trelewis, using a freight railway;
A short new line from Grangetown to Cardiff’s Sports Village; and
New heavy rail stations at St Athan, Rumney, Llanwern and Brackla.
The maps also shed light on schemes which need “further study before inclusion in future phases”, implying they will not be delivered until after the scheduled completion in 2023 of Metro Phase 2.
They include converting the City Line (Ninian Park-Radyr) to light rail, along with installing a new line from Fairwater to Creigiau.
This would provide the “rapid transit link” which was inserted into Cardiff’s Local Transport Plan, at the government’s request, in 2014-15 and marked for delivery in 2019-20.
The alternative of providing rapid buses from the housing growth area to the city centre is shown on the maps but marked “discontinued from future consideration at present”.
The proposal previously attracted criticism because it would depend on installing bus lanes through densely populated inner suburbs.
Also in the “future phases” category are:
Extending the Aberdare line to Hirwaun;
More frequent trains on the Abergavenny line, with new stations at Caerleon and Sebastopol;
Light rail lines from central Cardiff to St Mellons along the A4161 and B4487, and from Llanishen to Cardiff Gate;
An on-street light rail line from Caerphilly to Machen, continuing along a freight railway to Newport;
Light rail on the former railway route from Hengoed over the viaduct to Pontllanfraith, extending on-street to Blackwood;
A new park and ride site at Coryton, with a light rail extension across the Taff to Radyr; and
A heavy rail line from Llanhilleth to Abertillery on a disused rail route.