New platform could ease congestion
A NEW platform has officially opened at Cardiff Central station in a bid to ease congestion for Valleys train passengers.
Platform eight will be used for the Penarth, Barry Island and Vale of Glamorgan lines, which serve Valleys commuters.
A track for the new platform has been installed and will allow trains to depart westwards from platforms seven and eight at the same time.
Services will run from platform eight between 6am and 8pm from Monday to Saturday and will run from platform seven at all other times, with a few exceptions when Penarth and Barry Island lines will run through platform three or four.
Christian Irwin, programme manager for Network Rail Wales, said: “This brand new platform is designed to ease congestion and is just one of the many elements of this highly complex project to re-model and modernise the railway in South Wales as part of our railway upgrade plan.
“It will allow the potential for more services to run in the Cardiff area, resulting in an increase in passenger capacity, particularly at peak times.
“As part of this project, which began in 2012, we have replaced ageing signalling equipment, enhanced track layouts, built new platforms and improved stations.”
Platform eight is part of the £300m Cardiff area signalling renewals project aimed at modernising the Cardiff and Valleys network.
The works are the largest signalling project of its kind to be commissioned on the rail network.
Engineering work was carried out during the Christmas period and passengers faced delays as disruptions were caused to some services.
Temporary changes were put in place until the work was complete, including replacement bus services between Cardiff Central and Newport and Cardiff Central and Bridgend.
Monday heralded a rise in fares for rail passengers across the country with the average rise across the UK hitting 2.3%.
The increase came ahead of a new study which revealed workers are spending up to a seventh of their income on rail fares – around six times as much as people across Europe.
The Action campaign said for Rail workers would spend 14% of their income on a monthly season ticket in some parts of the country.
Mick Whelan, leader of the drivers’ union Aslef, said: “It is scandalous that the Government is allowing privatised train companies to make even more money for providing an ever-poorer service.
“We have the most expensive railway in Europe and the train companies, aided and abetted by this Government, are about to make it even more costly for people to travel.”
Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash said British passengers were paying the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed services.
A 12-month season ticket to travel between Bridgend and Cardiff Central will go up from £968 to £984.
A similar ticket to journey between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff will increase from £1,084 to £1,104, while the cost of buying one to travel from Neath to the capital will rise from £1,624 to £1,652.
The price of commuting between the Welsh capital and London will reach new heights with a season ticket now costing £10,388 – an increase of £192.