Frequency enhancement set for Ebbw Vale line

AN investment of £70m is to open up a new hourly service between Newport and Ebbw Vale Town. At present there is only a through train from Cardiff to Ebbw Vale. Funded by Blaenau Gwent Council and supported by a loan from the Welsh Government, the project will include laying new track at Llanhilleth to form a passing loop to permit the new service. Currently there is only hourly service between Newport and Cross Keys, where passengers face a 20 minute wait for trains to or from Ebbw Vale Town.

New platforms will be built at Llanhilleth and Newbridge – making the stations fully accessible for the first time. Engineers have already started managing vegetation alongside 13 miles of line, and materials are also being dropped off ahead of a major focus on the work between April 15-18. At the southern end of the line, £17m will be spent on new signalling, controlled from the Wales Route Operating Centre in Cardiff. The whole project is expected to take around 18 months.