Delay for electrification

RAIL electrification to Cardiff has been delayed into next year, it has been confirmed.

The project to electrify the Great Western Mainline from London to South Wales has seen its budget soar since first being announced by then Prime Minister David Cameron back in 2012.

And last year, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, announced that the original plan to electrify the Great Western Mainline as far west as Swansea was being ditched.

Instead electrification will only go as far west as Cardiff.

Network Rail had planned to have completed electrification to Cardiff this year, but has now admitted it will not happen until 2019.

While not specifying exactly when electrification to the capital will be completed in 2019, it is not expected until the second half of the year.

Electrification work, including raising bridges to allow electric wires to be put up and at Cardiff and Newport train stations, has been taking place on the Welsh side of the Severn Tunnel for a number of years.

However, Network Rail, which owns, operate and develops the UK’s rail infrastructure, will need to negotiate with the rail operating companies using the line, including Arriva Trains Wales (the current operator of the Wales & Borders franchise) and Great Western Railway, to accelerate work.

And Network Rail will need to agree compensation with the train operators whose services will be impacted by electrification work.

This could see reduced services during this year’s Christmas period and Easter next year on the Great Western mainline on the Welsh side of the Severn Tunnel to allow Network Rail engineers to accelerate electrification work. To date, most of the work has been conducted overnight.

The delay has been confirmed in the latest report from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways.

In it it says: “ORR raised concerns with Network Rail in February 2018, having benchmarked previous electrification performance.

“An achievable plan to deliver electrification to Cardiff in 2018 has not been produced. Network Rail is looking at options with its funders and customers for delivering electrification to Cardiff that would complete the works in 2019.”

The Severn Tunnel is scheduled to reopen tomorrow, having been closed for three weeks for upgrade work linked to electrification.

So far electrification of the Great Western Mainline from London is operational as far west as Didcot Parkway.

Here the new Hitachi intercity express bimodal trains (on westward journeys) switch from electric to diesel power mode.

Network Rail said electrification is on track to reach Bristol Parkway by the end of this year.

To date electrification of the Great Western Mainline has more than doubled what was initially forecast to £2.46bn.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to completing electrification to Cardiff.

“We are working with train operating companies to agree the access we need to achieve this as quickly as possible in 2019, while keeping the future disruption to passengers to a minimum.”

Once electrification reaches Cardiff Central station, the bi-modes will run on diesel power to Swansea. Fully completed electrification will cut 15