Cardiff Capital Region
The Cardiff Capital Region includes ten local authority areas covering South East Wales. These are Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan. We’re working closely with them all to develop an integrated transport network that will create accessible spaces to live, work and play.
Rail
The first Metro extension is planned from Aberdare to Hirwaun using the old freight line that used to serve the Tower Colliery. It will include an intermediate station at Llwydcoed and gives us the opportunity to make Hirwaun a sustainable transport hub and gateway to the Beacons, supporting economic development and tourism.
Bus
Bus will see significant improvements in the coming years. We’re focusing on delivering high-quality, reliable and well-connected services that have priority over other road traffic.
We’re collaborating with the Welsh Government, Welsh local authorities and Cardiff Capital Region to improve the quality of our buses, customer experience, and emissions. We’ll also work with Welsh local authorities to improve major bus routes to make journeys faster and improve reliability, journey times, and connections.
Active travel and integration
TfW is collaborating with Welsh local authorities to develop our first Active Travel Station Network Plans around Pontypridd and Bridgend stations. These will be integrated with our wider local network plans. We’ll then develop further station network plans tied into a wider programme of works to improve active travel, bus and rail integration across Metro.
Looking to the future with rail and bus rapid transit
Longer term, our aim is to bring the levels of service frequency and connectivity on the Core Valleys Lines to the rest of our network. These improvements will offer better access to jobs and services in rural areas like the Vale of Glamorgan, the eastern valleys and Monmouthshire.
We’re initiating a number of strategic studies to enhance Metro in these prioritised areas. Our aim is to decarbonise and improve the environmental impact of our network through electrification.
We expect faster, more direct bus services to play a greater role on some key routes.
