What this means for South East Wales

 

As part of our commitment to South East Wales, we will:

  • Remove Pacer trains by December 2019 (Passenger feedback has highlighted the need to improve capacity and resilience in the fleet as a key priority, TfW plan to deliver this by keeping Pacer trains for a short period during 2020)
  • Introduce a Central Metro that improves journey times and increases frequency to at least four trains per hour from the head of each valley using new trains.
  • Introduce new Metro Vehicles with level boarding by December 2022, which will provide a modern metro-style service to the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr valleys. 
  • Retain the link from Penarth, Barry and Bridgend to destinations north of Cardiff Central using new tri-mode trains (overhead electric, battery and diesel) from December 2023.
  • Invest in Cardiff Central station from April 2025, Abergavenny station from April 2023, Chepstow from April 2025 and Merthyr Tydfil from April 2020.
  • Build new stations at Crwys Road and Butetown and upgrade Cardiff Bay by December 2023, and Gabalfa by 2028.
  • We are actively working with the Welsh Government and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council to discuss funding options for relocating Treforest Estate station by December 2025, to improve safety and convenience. 
  • Simplify the Cardiff Valley fare structure from January 2020, reducing Anytime Return fares by 12.5% and Weekly Season tickets by 14% for 33 of the outer stations. 
  • Develop a fleet maintenance depot at Taff’s Well and a dedicated Infrastructure Management depot in the Valleys. Both will use local training and development facilities such as Coleg y Cymoedd.
  • Introduce three new Community Rail Partnerships, recruiting a Community and Stakeholder Manager and nine Community and Customer Ambassadors by 2021.
  • Eliminate diesel use on the Central Metro lines by 2024.
  • Provide ticket machines at all South Wales Metro stations by April 2019.
  • Introduce pay-as-you-go for users of smartcards by April 2020. 

 

Train service improvements include:

  • A new 1 train per hour (tph) Ebbw Vale to Newport service by May 2021.
  • 2tph between Cardiff and Bridgend via Vale of Glamorgan from December 2023.
  • 4tph throughout the Rhymney route from December 2023.
  • 4tph to Treherbert from December 2022.
  • 6tph to Cardiff Bay from December 2022.
  • 4tph between Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Cardiff from December 2022.
  • 1tph between Cardiff and Cheltenham from December 2022.
  • 4tph between Cardiff and Bridgend (direct, Monday to Saturday) from December 2019.

UPDATE: Because of the enormous impact of COVID-19, some original dates, set in 2018, have had to be revised. You can find more details here.