TfW FOI Request - South Wales Metro

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

South Wales Metro

Date issued: 11 October 2019

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request of 2 October 2019. You requested the following information:

  • which Local Authorities in Wales will be affected by the South Wales Metro proposals?
  • what stage the project is at, and what is currently proposed as part of the scheme? I have tried to determine this from the information available online however if you could provide any further updates that would be of great benefit
  • details of any proposed extensions, and where they will be located?

I am writing to confirm that your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) and that Transport for Wales (TfW) has completed its search for the information and has the information requested.

1. which Local Authorities in Wales will be affected by the South Wales Metro proposals?

The South Wales Metro project will predominantly affect the 10 local authorities in the Cardiff Capital Region (Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan).

2. What stage the project is at, and what is currently proposed as part of the scheme?

Transport for Wales appointed an Operator and Development Partner to help us build the South Wales Metro in June 2018 and development is in its early stages. While we are currently finalising the detailed design of the South Wales Metro, work has commenced on our £100 million Fleet Maintenance Depot and Metro Control Centre at Taff’s Well as well as our Treforest Infrastructure Management Hub.

Once we’ve completed the transfer of ownership of the core valleys lines (the railway lines to Aberdare, Coryton, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Treherbert) from Network Rail to the Welsh Government in January 2020 we plan to start upgrading these lines from March 2020.

You may find the following links helpful:

https://news.tfw.wales/news/making-way-for-the-south-wales-metro

https://tfw.wales/about-us/whats-happening/south-east-wales

https://tfw.wales/projects/metro/south-wales-metro

3. Details of any proposed extensions, and where they will be located?

An extension to the Cardiff Bay branch is proposed as part of this phase of delivery. The system is designed to be multimodal and extendable, allowing for additional extensions in the future.

Yours sincerely

Transport for Wales