South Wales 'Metro' updates

[AdamWW]

In the press release they say they are closing it to make the crossing safer, possibly barriers and lights,

In the web page that the press release links to they say just chicanes to force people to look both ways.
And the station closure is planned for far longer than the level crossing works are expected to take so this can't be used to justify the closure.

It's not the most road accessible place and I am guessing quite a bit of ground work needs doing before the platform can be added. The days of laying out a few sleepers a la ADNR have gone!

OK let's assume that when they cleared and flattened the area beyond the existing platform that was just part of the electrification and maybe tracklaying worked and not the ground preparation that it looks like.
But - when they did do all that, they did it without a long station closure.
Have a look at Google Maps. There is a road leading right up to the railway boundary - I'm pretty sure they made a gap in the fence for access to carry out the previous work.

But OK maybe now they've been refused access and will have to work another way. But I still don't see why that involves closing the station completely.

Look at Danescourt on Google Maps. It sits in a cutting and I'd happily describe that as not the most road accessible place yet somehow they managed to extend both platforms without closing the station.

 

[The exile]

In the web page that the press release links to they say just chicanes to force people to look both ways.
And the station closure is planned for far longer than the level crossing works are expected to take so this can't be used to justify the closure.



OK let's assume that when they cleared and flattened the area beyond the existing platform that was just part of the electrification and maybe tracklaying worked and not the ground preparation that it looks like.
But - when they did do all that, they did it without a long station closure.
Have a look at Google Maps. There is a road leading right up to the railway boundary - I'm pretty sure they made a gap in the fence for access to carry out the previous work.

But OK maybe now they've been refused access and will have to work another way. But I still don't see why that involves closing the station completely.

Look at Danescourt on Google Maps. It sits in a cutting and I'd happily describe that as not the most road accessible place yet somehow they managed to extend both platforms without closing the station.

Was the work at Danescourt by any chance at the opposite end the platform to the entrance and at Ty Glas at the same end?

 

[AdamWW]

Was the work at Danescourt by any chance at the opposite end the platform to the entrance and at Ty Glas at the same end?

No.

Have a look on Google Maps.

(Although dated 2025, the images of Danescourt are from before the extensions were built).

And of course Danescourt wasn't the only station they did on the City Line.

If SDO isn't possible, then of course Ty Glas will be unusable whether formally open or not by 756s.

If you were an organisation with a culture of never wanting to look bad and you had a station that couldn't be used because - despite knowing years in advance it would be needed - you hadn't got a platform extension in place in time, might you be tempted to give a less than truthful reason for the closure?

 

[Cardiff4]

An interesting issue resulting from the closure of Ty Glas will be that PAYG customers using Birchgrove (BCG) instead of Ty Glas (TGS) will be paying 29% more for their tickets to Cardiff Queen Street (CDQ). A one-way PAYG journey from TGS to CDQ is £1.70 but BCG to CDQ is more expensive at £2.20. £1 a day extra per day for a return trip is a lot to pay over 10 months!

TfW PAYG zones have prices set at £1.70 for journeys of < 3.5 miles and £2.20 for journeys of 3.5 to 6.5 miles. Ty Glas is just that bit closer to Cardiff Queen Street than Birchgrove and therefore has a cheaper PAYG fare.

 

[AdamWW]

An interesting issue resulting from the closure of Ty Glas will be that PAYG customers using Birchgrove (BCG) instead of Ty Glas (TGS) will be paying 29% more for their tickets to Cardiff Queen Street (CDQ). A one-way PAYG journey from TGS to CDQ is £1.70 but BCG to CDQ is more expensive at £2.20. £1 a day extra per day for a return trip is a lot to pay over 10 months!

That is interesting. Looks as if it only applies to Queen Street and not Cardif Central.

And it's not quite as bad as that since anyone doing it every day would hit the weekly cap so it's "only" £3.30 a week.

I think I would be a bit annoyed though if I was being charged extra for the inconvenience of having my usual station closed.

I presume this is the same as not being able to use PAYG when ticket acceptance is arranged on service buses - something which regular users of Ty Glas will be very used to. If you want the benefit of PAYG capping it seems that you have to accept that sometimes you're going to end up paying more when TfW can't run their services.

(Possibly if you make a fuss they will refund bus tickets if you're using PAYG capping but if so they don't appear to be publicising the fact).

 

[J663738]

That is interesting. Looks as if it only applies to Queen Street and not Cardif Central.

And it's not quite as bad as that since anyone doing it every day would hit the weekly cap so it's "only" £3.30 a week.

I think I would be a bit annoyed though if I was being charged extra for the inconvenience of having my usual station closed.

I presume this is the same as not being able to use PAYG when ticket acceptance is arranged on service buses - something which regular users of Ty Glas will be very used to. If you want the benefit of PAYG capping it seems that you have to accept that sometimes you're going to end up paying more when TfW can't run their services.

(Possibly if you make a fuss they will refund bus tickets if you're using PAYG capping but if so they don't appear to be publicising the fact).

I am not sure why some people are getting so upset about the PAYG fares, in truth like some of the other TfW unregulated fares, when most are using them, they will be stealthily increased up to that of the regulated fares.
Like the Evening return, which once offered great value, an evening return where I live was actually less than the price of a single ticket.
Then about three years ago TfW started increasing the price of it twice a year, once when the normal regulated fares went up and again six months later. As it was unregulated fare there was no mention anywhere of the second increases.
Now it's virtually the same price as a standard regulated return. TfW's website still says an Evening Return offers "Outstanding Value" if you regard a 20p discount on a £5.00 fare as outstanding value that is!
I did use the PAYG a few times, but the hassle of incorrect fares and being wrongly fined £10 due to broken card reader has made me go back to paper tickets. Call me old fashioned but I like to know what I am being charged immediately I purchase something not having to check my credit card 3 days later to find out.

 

[AdamWW]

I am not sure why some people are getting so upset about the PAYG fares, in truth like some of the other TfW unregulated fares, when most are using them, they will be stealthily increased up to that of the regulated fares.

Quite possibly. But that isn't the case now and offer a considerable saving at present for someone regularly travelling between Ty Glas and Queen Street.

Maybe you see life differently but I suspect a lot of people won't be happy with being told that for at least the next 10 months (and experience with the rest of the Metro works suggests a distinct possibility that it will over-run) they've got an extra walk to and from the station every day and are expected to pay more every week for the privilege.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jun 2025 ==

By the way, someone on Twitter has posted what appear to be plans for the station work at Ty Glas.

There does seem to be some work planned on the existing platform, but it doesn't look to me any more significant than has been carried out at other stations on the line during short line closures. (And they have all day every Sunday to do work without any trains being in the way).

The post also shows that back in May TfW had not only planned to close the station in the summer but were willing to say so if pushed on the matter.

I would personally prefer it that when they know something which will cause significant disruption is planned even if they don't know the full details, that they gave advance warning.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jun 2025 ==

P.S. In a reply to the Twitter post above, someone says that the 756s don't have selective door opening.

Is that true?

I'm fairly sure that the Greater Anglia ones do so it's possible on a UK FLIRT.

 

[Cardiff4]

Maybe you see life differently but I suspect a lot of people won't be happy with being told that for at least the next 10 months (and experience with the rest of the Metro works suggests a distinct possibility that it will over-run) they've got an extra walk to and from the station every day and are expected to pay more every week for the privilege.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make in my earlier post (#7,234). Also how likely is it that TfW will advise customers of this change in their fare in advance of the station closure?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jun 2025 ==


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jun 2025 ==

Here are a couple of interesting quotes from the FAQ section of the recent press release:

• 5 brand-new Class 756 trains will be introduced onto the Coryton and Caerphilly lines, travelling to Penarth. The first of these trains will be introduced on Saturday 19 July, with a phased introduction of the remaining 4 taking place over the summer.

• The upgrade of the level crossing is a separate project from the extension of the Ty Glas station platform. Our team working on the level crossing will aim to complete the necessary safety upgrades as quickly as possible. We aim to reopen the crossing before the station reopens in Spring 2026.

 

[AdamWW]

That's exactly the point I was trying to make in my earlier post (#7,234). Also how likely is it that TfW will advise customers of this change in their fare in advance of the station closure?

I know. I was replying to @Jantra who seemed to be arguing that it was unreasonable to complain.
It would be interesting to know if TfW just never thought about it, or did realise it but decided to do nothing and see if anyone complained. (Neither seems good to me).

When they shut the Coryton Line for two weeks at very little notice they told people who wanted to use their season ticket on other routes they'd have to apply for a partial refund on their existing season and buy another ticket for the two weeks.

• 5 brand-new Class 756 trains will be introduced onto the Coryton and Caerphilly lines, travelling to Penarth. The first of these trains will be introduced on Saturday 19 July, with a phased introduction of the remaining 4 taking place over the summer.

I presume what they are trying to say is that they will be running a 756 initially on one diagram, then phasing in the rest until all five diagrams are planned to be 756s.

• The upgrade of the level crossing is a separate project from the extension of the Ty Glas station platform. Our team working on the level crossing will aim to complete the necessary safety upgrades as quickly as possible. We aim to reopen the crossing before the station reopens in Spring 2026.

Can someone in the industry explain why it should take so long to make some relatively minor changes to a level crossing like this?

Is TfW not going about it in an optimal manner or is this really just how things are in the industry now? And if the latter, does it actually have to be like this?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jun 2025 ==

Well they could do with the new trains. Today there are cancellations on the Coryton Line due to the perennial "more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time"

 

[J663738]

I was replying to @Jantra who seemed to be arguing that it was unreasonable to complain.

Not true, you indeed have every right to complain, TfW seem to regard people who travel on the Coryton-Penarth line as a bit of a nuisance, any staffing, infrastructure or even congestion issues this is the 'go to' line for short notice cancellations.
Today 6 services already cancelled, Which is why I like to play guess the excuse bingo, today's excuse is "There is a problem at the Depot"

My point was don't get to use to the unregulated PAYG fares being cheaper in the long run, they will rise close to the regulated fares once enough people are using them.

 

[AdamWW]

Not true, you indeed have every right to complain

OK - apologies for misunderstanding.

TfW seem to regard people who travel on the Coryton-Penarth line as a bit of a nuisance, any staffing, infrastructure or even congestion issues this is the 'go to' line for short notice cancellations.

Absolutely.

To be fair, they did acknowledge a while back how poor the service was and take action (including removing stops between Queen Street and Caerphilly to give more resiliance). But it does feel as if they've rather lost interest again and have reverted to the default of turning trains round at Ty Glas if they're a bit late even when there would be time to go all way to Coryton by skipping stops in one direction.

Though hey do seem to be doing a bit better at not unnecessariliy holding trains at Heath Low Level by setting the path (or, presumably, allowing the path to be set automatically) for a main line train too early.

 

[Cardiff123]

Not true, you indeed have every right to complain, TfW seem to regard people who travel on the Coryton-Penarth line as a bit of a nuisance, any staffing, infrastructure or even congestion issues this is the 'go to' line for short notice cancellations.
Today 6 services already cancelled, Which is why I like to play guess the excuse bingo, today's excuse is "There is a problem at the Depot"

My point was don't get to use to the unregulated PAYG fares being cheaper in the long run, they will rise close to the regulated fares once enough people are using them.

Journeycheck lists the reason for cancellations in the Cardiff area today as "more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time" which probably has truth to it, as when the Caerphilly to Rhymney line is shut, more 150s are needed as Barry to Bridgend drivers are still not trained on 231s.
So if they are short of 150s then trains just get cancelled.

 

[J663738]

Just looking at the drawing for the Platform Extension at Ty Glas on Cardiff Council....

25/00961/PRAP | Platform extension, bicycle hardstanding areas and associated works | Ty Glas Railway Station Field Way Heath Cardiff

www.cardiffidoxcloud.wales

I think the reason it will take 10 months is because they are virtually building a new station, accessibility and safety laws mean a whole raft of legislation kicks in, so they can't legally just extend what's there, for example the new platform has to have a 1:50 slope away from the edge.
Looking for closure link on TfW it's hidden in 'Transformation of the Coryton and Lower Rhymney Lines' section, its almost if they can't bring themselves to have it under Ty-Glas Closure as this would be seen as bad news.

 

[AdamWW]

Just looking at the drawing for the Platform Extension at Ty Glas on Cardiff Council....

25/00961/PRAP | Platform extension, bicycle hardstanding areas and associated works | Ty Glas Railway Station Field Way Heath Cardiff

www.cardiffidoxcloud.wales

I think the reason it will take 10 months is because they are virtually building a new station, accessibility and safety laws mean a whole raft of legislation kicks in, so they can't legally just extend what's there, for example the new platform has to have a 1:50 slope away from the edge.

It's described as "TY GLAS STATION PLATFORM EXTENSION, BICYCLE HARDSTANDING AREAS AND ASSOCIATED WORKS" and there is a separate drawing for the extension but not the rest of the platform.
The general arrangement drawing includes "PLATFORM COPER ADJUSTMENTS"

I have no familiarity with how these things work but to me this doesn't suggest demolishing the exisiting platform and replacing it with a new one.

I believe Ty Glas opened the same year as the City Line stations so presumably built to the same standards. These did not require a complete re-build when they were extended.

Taffs Well is of course a much older station and I think has also had a platform extension.

 

[J663738]

Don't think they are demolishing it, but the phrase "Platform Coper Adjustments" on the drawings means they will probably resurface and re-edge the existing platform to ensure it meets current safety requirements.

10 months time scale has more to do with 'resource availability' rather than the actual time this work should really take!!

Where I live they are building a new school and the sewer work which is about only about 100 yards on a main road has been going on now for nearly a year, half the time no one is working on it.
Disruption doesn't seem to come in to the calculations in the UK's

 

[Ib5]

What was the line about sarcasm being the lowest form of wit?

You see to fail to understand that the whole point of a functioning Metro is that most journeys will involve making a change either to a similar or to a different mode of transport. Just ask yourself how many users of LU or the Manchester Metro expect to be whisked from their home to their destination without making a change?

To use your own example. If I live in, let's say, Harrow, am I put off a day at the beach in Brighton, by the need to take two toiletless tube trains to Victoria and then change to a train?

The answer is yes, I might be. So, I might decide to take the kids to Legoland or wherever instead.

And that decision is infantesimably unimportant in terms of the passenger numbers and profit and loss figures ot the metro and rail operators.

The idea that passengers from some, but not all, railheads have a right to travel to some, but not all, other railheads without making a change is frankly for the birds.

You come across as someone who has a dislike for TfW and /or Welsh Government and are looking for something, anything to whinge about.

I was being serious….

 

[Richard Scott]

Journeycheck lists the reason for cancellations in the Cardiff area today as "more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time" which probably has truth to it, as when the Caerphilly to Rhymney line is shut, more 150s are needed as Barry to Bridgend drivers are still not trained on 231s.
So if they are short of 150s then trains just get cancelled.

That seems to be their go to excuse. I've heard it quite often!

 

[AdamWW]

That seems to be their go to excuse. I've heard it quite often!

There have been times (not recently) when it was quite usual for more trains than usual to need repairs.

 

[tfw756rider]

Today there are cancellations on the Coryton Line due to the perennial "more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time"

That seems to be their go to excuse. I've heard it quite often!

There have been times (not recently) when it was quite usual for more trains than usual to need repairs.

As soon as you hear "mwy o drenau", you know...

 

[LlanishenBull]

OK - apologies for misunderstanding.



Absolutely.

To be fair, they did acknowledge a while back how poor the service was and take action (including removing stops between Queen Street and Caerphilly to give more resiliance). But it does feel as if they've rather lost interest again and have reverted to the default of turning trains round at Ty Glas if they're a bit late even when there would be time to go all way to Coryton by skipping stops in one direction.

Though hey do seem to be doing a bit better at not unnecessariliy holding trains at Heath Low Level by setting the path (or, presumably, allowing the path to be set automatically) for a main line train too early.

My short hop from HLL to Coryton one day last week had exactly this. The down train was 2 or 3 mins late, it was held until the next down train from HHL went south a few mins later. Made my train late of course, thankfully tfw took the option to cancel stops at the normal 3 stations on the way up rather than terminate at Ty Glas.

 

[J663738]

thankfully tfw took the option to cancel stops at the normal 3 stations on the way up rather than terminate at Ty Glas.

But sometimes, as has happened me recently, TfW run ever shorter journeys on this line, completely ditching the end stations to get the services back on track. I walked from Coryton all the way down to Birchrogrve, only for me to see the third cancelled train terminate at Ty-Glas 100m away!

 

[AdamWW]

But sometimes, as has happened me recently, TfW run ever shorter journeys on this line, completely ditching the end stations to get the services back on track. I walked from Coryton all the way down to Birchrogrve, only for me to see the third cancelled train terminate at Ty-Glas 100m away!

Sadly that's almost always the solution to a late running train, even if it means it sits at Ty Glas for 12 minutes or more. There was a brief period a few months back when they started making a real effort to improve things and used skipping stations quite a bit. But now they seem to have gone back to mostly turning them at Ty Glas. At least you can see a long way down the line that it's happened, given that often it's not possible for them to update the real time information at stations further up the line.

Extremely frustrating. Especially now they've shown that they can do better, but normally aren't able to make the effort.

They really excelled themselves recently when they turned the train I was on at Ty Glas when the previous two trains had been cancelled completely.

I did try asking why they thought that was acceptable but their approach was to turn it into a freedom of information request despite my protests, then when it got to the front of the queue the freedom of information team said it wasn't anything to do with them, passed it back so I could get a form response, and when I asked for a substantive one was told it was now far too late to investigate. But I could be assured that there would have been a very good reason for it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==

An interesting issue resulting from the closure of Ty Glas will be that PAYG customers using Birchgrove (BCG) instead of Ty Glas (TGS) will be paying 29% more for their tickets to Cardiff Queen Street (CDQ). A one-way PAYG journey from TGS to CDQ is £1.70 but BCG to CDQ is more expensive at £2.20. £1 a day extra per day for a return trip is a lot to pay over 10 months!

TfW PAYG zones have prices set at £1.70 for journeys of < 3.5 miles and £2.20 for journeys of 3.5 to 6.5 miles. Ty Glas is just that bit closer to Cardiff Queen Street than Birchgrove and therefore has a cheaper PAYG fare.

I see that somone asked this question on Twitter on Friday.
They said that they would "have the team" look at it.
So far there doesn't appear to have been a response but I never know with Twitter if its algorithm has just decided I don't need to see something.

 

[MikePJ]

There's a new consultation document live (see attached) which is about the electrification of the Cardiff Bay line. In summary, it says that the down line (the one that currently has overhead line installed) will be made live during the period 19th-21st September.

I still don't really understand the staggered approach to overhead wiring on the Bay line - it seems odd to build and energise it one track at a a time.

 

[CapitalStar378]

There's a new consultation document live (see attached) which is about the electrification of the Cardiff Bay line. In summary, it says that the down line (the one that currently has overhead line installed) will be made live during the period 19th-21st September.

I still don't really understand the staggered approach to overhead wiring on the Bay line - it seems odd to build and energise it one track at a a time.

The piecemeal approach to the Bay line enhancements is befuddling. I can only assume it's prioritising of funds and a lack of urgency due to the 398s being so behind in entering service.

 

[MikePJ]

The piecemeal approach to the Bay line enhancements is befuddling. I can only assume it's prioritising of funds and a lack of urgency due to the 398s being so behind in entering service.

Back in January 2024, the project plan called for the electrification of one line (and presumably the introduction of 398s) in October 2024, followed six months later (April 2025) with electrification of the second line and the changeover to line-of-sight signalling. I think it was probably about trying to minimise the stock shortage by allowing the 398s to run on the Bay line as soon as possible.

 

[positron]

Yeah I imagine it's to get the 398s running asap. Though I didn't think the bay electrification would actually be needed for that given the original plans had no OLE on the bay line at all.

I wonder why it actually takes a long time to do the second track I know the station at butetown isn't ready yet but surely they could get the track and wires done and setup for the bay station at least?

 

[MikePJ]

Yeah I imagine it's to get the 398s running asap. Though I didn't think the bay electrification would actually be needed for that given the original plans had no OLE on the bay line at all.

I wonder why it actually takes a long time to do the second track I know the station at butetown isn't ready yet but surely they could get the track and wires done and setup for the bay station at least?

It’s because the existing track slews across from being the “down” line at Cardiff Bay to being the “up” line at Queen St South Junction. There needs to be a big realignment and that’s disruptive, so it’s not happened yet. Also there’s signalling and signage blocking the unused track that will need to be removed.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jun 2025 ==

A new consultation has gone live, and it's the project plan for the rest of 2025. We also get a whole set of track diagrams showing what's to be changed (worth noting that new items are in red, and items to be removed are in green).

Extracting out some milestone dates:

July 2025 - Transfer of 25kV isolation management from Didcot ECO to CVLICC ECO is intended to take place during Canton stage 2 commissioning event planned for July 2025

Week of July 19th until week of 6th September - gradual introduction of 756s on Penarth, Coryton and Caerphilly routes

September 2025 - Energisation of the OLE on the Bay line and into Cardiff Bay Platform 2

October 2025 – Ynyswen station upgrade entry into service.
October 2025 - Taffs Well station additional facilities entry into service

October 2025 - toilets on "TAM A" stations completed ready for Class 398 introduction

Week of November 8th onwards - gradual transition of Cardiff Bay to Pontypridd service to Class 398s (3 units/day required) and further 398s to enter service as more crew are trained

December 2025: Energisation of the new OLE from Caerphilly to Rhymney (EE4)

December 2025 Ty-Glas Station platform extensions entry into service
December 2025 Energisation of Lisvane to Caerphilly Bay Platform (EE3B-2)

December 2025: ASDO beacons to be installed at stations on Vale of Glamorgan, Penarth and at Ninian Park

 

[AdamWW]

Extracting out some milestone dates:

Ty Glas reopening in December would mean a somewhat shorted closure than the 10 months that was publicly announced recently.

I hadn't expected ADSO to be required at Penarth.

 

[MikePJ]

Ty Glas reopening in December would mean a somewhat shorted closure than the 10 months that was publicly announced recently.

I hadn't expected ADSO to be required at Penarth.

Yeah, that timing does seem weird.

The ASDO beacons might be “doors open this side” beacons rather than indicating a short platform. A 231 definitely fits into the platform at Penarth so a 756 also should. I”ve edited my post to clarify this.

 

[positron]

Interesting that no new platform appears to be going in at Rhymney anymore?