Railway investment in South Wales

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The UK government revealed that millions in funding is being spent on transforming the South Wales rail network in an announcement by Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, on Monday 22^nd July 2019.

In the announcement, Secretary Grayling detailed that up to £58M of funding was to be spent on significant upgrades to Cardiff Central Station as a means of improving access and constructing platforms that will be suited for longer trains.

Furthermore, Secretary Grayling went on to mention that the UK government is progressing plans for a new West Wales Parkway station situated near Swansea that will reduce journey times to West Wales and also stated that improvements could result in a journey reduction time of up to 14 minutes between Cardiff and London from December 2019.

He stated: “Passengers in Cardiff deserve a modern, accessible station at the heart of their vibrant city centre. This funding has the potential to deliver just that, ensuring more reliable, comfortable and faster journeys into and out of the capital.

“It is imperative that the two governments in Wales work closely together because, in doing so, this strengthens the Union and I look forward to receiving the proposals for an ambitious and deliverable business case.”

The respective projects will go ahead subject to assurances that the schemes will represent value for money by easing crowding and congestion at Cardiff Central Station at peak times, by driving regeneration, by introducing more reliable and faster services, and by boosting connectivity and capacity for passengers across the South and West of Wales.

The Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, added: “We’re committed to improving standards of service for rail passengers across Wales.

“This funding will allow Cardiff to become an attractive tourist and commuter destination at a crucial time in the city’s regeneration. We are also committing to progressing plans for a West Wales Parkway station, which will deliver time savings of up to a quarter of an hour from Pembrokeshire to Cardiff and increase local connectivity around Swansea to provide greater opportunities for the whole of the Swansea Bay City region.”

Investment in the rail network builds upon the £5Bn that the UK government is investing on improving journeys for passengers on the Great West Mainline between South Wales and London.

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