"Cardiff crossrail' proposals by business lobby

[JohnCarlson]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-20875901

Cardiff 'crossrail' proposals by business lobby

A business lobby group has unveiled plans for £200m Cardiff "crossrail" that it says is needed to help the city cope with housing and economic growth.

Metro Consortium says tram-trains which run on both roads and rails are the way ahead after the planned electrification of south Wales' rail lines.

It proposes crossrails east-west from St Mellons to the M4 at Creigiau and north-south from the M4 to the bay.

Lobbyist Mark Barry said: "Transport is the backbone of regional development."

In July this year, the UK government confirmed it would extend the planned electrification of the south Wales main line to Cardiff to Swansea and the south Wales valleys.

Mr Barry said the electrification work, expected to start sometime between 2014 and 2019, would make Cardiff easier to reach from outside than it would be to travel across it by rail

His proposals say the city suffers from a relative lack of transport connectivity as its population is set to grow beyond 400,000 by 2026.
He suggests a network of continental-style tram-trains as part of a "Cardiff crossrail".


It would mean new stations places like Ely Bridge, St Mellons, Crwys Rd, Wedal Road [for University Hospital of Wales], Rover Way, Splott and Waterhall, phased over 10 years.


(read more)

"What do people think?"


Stands back

 

[lancastrian]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-20875901



"What do people think?"


Stands back

Great Idea. Shows initiative and good ideas.

Sadly because of that, very unlikely to happen as it requires politicians to choose to do something that will be of positive benefit for people, improve the local transport infrastructure and do something for a city outside London.




NO CHANCE.

 

[anthony263]

I have to agree with the above we have seen a number of these schemes now and they all suddenly go quiet and example being that monorail proposal back in 2012.

I think we should be lucky we are seeing electrification at the moment although I suppose it benefits London as they will have somewhere to send their old emu's

 

[tbtc]

Hmm, interesting. The quote:

Mr Barry said the electrification work, expected to start sometime between 2014 and 2019, would make Cardiff easier to reach from outside than it would be to travel across it by rail

This suggests that there's significant demand to get from one side of Cardiff to the other (and no just from the suburbs into the centre) - is there?

One of the benefits of London Crossrail is that there are some significant places on either side (like Docklands to Heathrow), as well as linking main line terminuses (termini?). That's less of an issue in Cardiff though (where the only two central stations have a very frequent link between them).

Great Idea. Shows initiative and good ideas.

Sadly because of that, very unlikely to happen as it requires politicians to choose to do something that will be of positive benefit for people, improve the local transport infrastructure and do something for a city outside London.




NO CHANCE.

There's a rather large amount of money being spent on infrastructure outside London over the rest of this decade (despite the predictable "London gets all the money" stuff) - a lot of money being spent in Cardiff too...

 

[FGWman]

The biggest problem I see is that the heavy rail will be electrified at 25KV. Cant see trams working at that voltage !!!

 

[anthony263]

I suspect there might be demand especially with St Fagans & Ely at the Western side of the city and St Mellons/Rynmeny to the east in the case of the latter there has been numerous retail & housing developments.

Trying to travel from St Fagans/Ely to the city centre is a nightmare the majority of the time and is like hell at rush hour and buses from St Fagans are generally every 60/90 minutes are simply cannot cope with the number of tourists visiting St Fagans.

Electrification should mean you can cut the journey time between Pontyclun & Cardiff Central to about 10-11 minutes compared to 13 minutes as it is now so there would be enough time to add a station call at St Fagans

 

[HSTEd]

The biggest problem I see is that the heavy rail will be electrified at 25KV. Cant see trams working at that voltage !!!

Trams work at 15kV on heavy rail lines in Karlsruhe.

 

[Greenback]

I have deleted a few posts that are discussing Manchester and London. Please can we keep this thread about the proposals for Cardiff, and start a new thread to discuss any perceptions about disparities in funding between London, Manchester or anywhere else.

Thanks!

 

[ValleyLines142]

Trying to travel from St Fagans/Ely to the city centre is a nightmare the majority of the time and is like hell at rush hour

It is indeed. I live just outside of Ely and even though the 17/18 bus runs every five minutes (well, supposedly!) as well as other buses in between it still is heaving! I really think we need a London Route 38 situation, with a bus every minute!

 

[Solaris]

http://www.mgbarryconsulting.com/docs/31122012081634.pdf

 

[anthony263]

It is indeed. I live just outside of Ely and even though the 17/18 bus runs every five minutes (well, supposedly!) as well as other buses in between it still is heaving! I really think we need a London Route 38 situation, with a bus every minute!

Hopefully as well if a station is built at St Fagans we will see the end of Cardiff City Councils idea of a FTR service from St Fagans to Rymney/Newport Road via Ely & Cardiff City Centre.

Its bad enough with the current bendybuses in Cardiff although they are not necessarily bad, since they are brilliant on services 17/18 to Ely.

There used to be a bus from the city centre to Ely every 5-8 minutes when St Davids travel ran service 18a and we had another local taxi firm running a service using Mercedes-Benz Vito minibuses bothe routes running every 15-20 minutes in between the Cardiff bus servies.

Trams would be a good idea in Cardiff particulary down to Cardiff bay where they can penertrate the bay are more effectively than the current rail service can. Plus trams would make a good tourist attraction in Cardiff as they would in Swansea but thats for another topic

 

[ValleyLines142]

Hopefully as well if a station is built at St Fagans we will see the end of Cardiff City Councils idea of a FTR service from St Fagans to Rymney/Newport Road via Ely & Cardiff City Centre.

I'm very surprised such a station has not been built, even one that served the north Canton/Victoria Park/St Fagan's area.

Its bad enough with the current bendybuses in Cardiff although they are not necessarily bad, since they are brilliant on services 17/18 to Ely.

They are very good but there's still not enough capacity on them. Most of the first section is taken up by space for five prams.

There used to be a bus from the city centre to Ely every 5-8 minutes when St Davids travel ran service 18a and we had another local taxi firm running a service using Mercedes-Benz Vito minibuses bothe routes running every 15-20 minutes in between the Cardiff bus servies.

I do remember them. Not sure what happened to them.

Trams would be a good idea in Cardiff particulary down to Cardiff bay where they can penertrate the bay are more effectively than the current rail service can. Plus trams would make a good tourist attraction in Cardiff as they would in Swansea but thats for another topic

I've always thought trams are a great idea. They don't cause congestion, they're electric and are environmentally friendly, and of course they make towns look so urbanised and developed, look at the likes of Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham! Manchester especially.