Swansea metro ‘10 years off’ forecasts man behind it
IT will be “at least a decade” until Swansea’s proposed metro system will be in use, according to the man who proposed it.
A £1bn regional metro has been proposed for the wider region and a feasibility study is due to start in April. It would include better links between road and rail.
Mark Barry, professor of practice in connectivity at Cardiff University’s School of Geography and Planning, has outlined an idea the for the Swansea Bay Metro which he believes could revitalise travel in the region. It is claimed the proposals would lead to 30-minute journey times from Swansea to Cardiff and 2.15 hours from Swansea to London.
Prof Barry, who came up with the concept for the south-east Wales Metro, which is now out for detailed costings, believes it will still be a decade until passengers are boarding the metro.
“It is going to take at least 10 years,” he said. “The bottom line is it takes a long time to deliver these projects.
“Look at the South Wales Metrothat is only now in procurement. It takes a long time to make the case for these projects and there are two governments involved. You need to build up a ground swell of support.”
It is currently a 55-minute rail journey between Swansea and Cardiff.
According to Helen Mary Jones, assistant director of the researchbased think tank Morgan Academy based at Swansea University, small improvements need to be made as well as the big projects.
She said: “We don’t want to wait for the big infrastructure to happen.
“We need to start making small improvements now, but at the same time we’ve got to have a big vision.”
Prof Barry added: “There can be short-term benefits that we will see before the 10-year period, but they have to be framed in a long-term context. It is important to develop a long- term strategic plan as well.
“I understand there are elections that all governments have to face, but you have to fix things that are broken.
“It is worth pointing out that HS2 will have a significant negative impact on south Wales that will require investment to mitigate.”
Leader of Swansea council Rob Stewart said he wanted to see the cash for the scheme come from UK government. He said: “We lost £700m when they cancelled electrification. Some of that money – if not all of it – needs to come back to help us fund the regional solutions, which we will include in the feasibility study.”