South Wales 'Metro' updates

[AdamWW]

That's what I thought too, but post 4462 indicates all 6 go to Cardiff via the city line.

Taken literally it does, but that wouldn't make much sense. To me anyway.

 

[CardiffKid]

Happy to stand corrected, but my reading of the 12 trains an hour south of Pontypridd is that they all go to Radyr, then six to to QS and the Bay (before reversing and returning to Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff etc) and the other six go via the City Line to Cardiff Central, Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff and back up to the Valleys.

 

[AdamWW]

Happy to stand corrected, but my reading of the 12 trains an hour south of Pontypridd is that they all go to Radyr, then six to to QS and the Bay (before reversing and returning to Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff etc) and the other six go via the City Line to Cardiff Central, Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff and back up to the Valleys.

I'm not disputing what you read.

It does seem like an odd scheme though, to have 6 (or 8 if the stoppers are extra) trains an hour going down the City Line one way and just the two stoppers the other. So I wonder if what you read was phrased badly and actually meant something slightly different (i.e. as has been suggested, 3 an hour each way).

I thought I read that the City Line only had the capacity for 2 tph but maybe that's wrong.

The reason I can think of to run a one-way scheme like this would be to reduce conflicting moves - but by having all the trains running onto the City Line going South that just seems to increase conflicting moves at Radyr though maybe it helps at Central.

 

[59CosG95]

#iss #isolationswales #amey #transportforwales #teamwork | Russ Ingham

And they are under starters orders . removal of construction earths is about to commence. And the first phase of energisation on the CVL is imminent #iss #isolationswales #amey #transportforwales #teamwork

www.linkedin.com

Looks like the first lot of wires are due to go live shortly...
Which ones go live first again? Is it everything in the Radyr - Llandaf - City Line area?

 

[AdamWW]

#iss #isolationswales #amey #transportforwales #teamwork | Russ Ingham

And they are under starters orders . removal of construction earths is about to commence. And the first phase of energisation on the CVL is imminent #iss #isolationswales #amey #transportforwales #teamwork

www.linkedin.com

Looks like the first lot of wires are due to go live shortly...
Which ones go live first again? Is it everything in the Radyr - Llandaf - City Line area?

According to signage, all overhead wires from "RAD 1m 39ch to RAD 4m 41ch and CAM 2m 55ch to 11m 73ch, from 8:00 last Tuesday.

This may mean more to other readers than it does to me.

 

[CardiffKid]

I thought I read that the City Line only had the capacity for 2 tph but maybe that's wrong.

Coryton to Heath Low Level would be as it’s all single track and a dead end at Coryton.

Radyr > Dansecourt > Fairwater > Waun-gron Park > Ninian Park is all two track with two platforms and a junction at each end.


I believe, although again I may be wrong that the two trains per hour from Coryton will run to Penarth and back.

 

[AdamWW]

Coryton to Heath Low Level would be as it’s all single track and a dead end at Coryton.

Radyr > Dansecourt > Fairwater > Waun-gron Park > Ninian Park is all two track with two platforms and a junction at each end.


I believe, although again I may be wrong that the two trains per hour from Coryton will run to Penarth and back.

I agree with the above, though I thought I had read that capacity constraints at Central meant that the City Line could only support 2 tph.
Perhaps that is only the stopping service because I think even at present some trains down from the Valleys do a round trip and back via the City Line.

 

[Dr Day]

Happy to stand corrected, but my reading of the 12 trains an hour south of Pontypridd is that they all go to Radyr, then six to to QS and the Bay (before reversing and returning to Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff etc) and the other six go via the City Line to Cardiff Central, Queen Street, Cathays, Llandaff and back up to the Valleys.

I was under the impression of the 12 south of Pontypridd, six went to the Bay, four went via Llandaf to Central and beyond, and two went around the city line to Central, reflecting capacity constraints at Cardiff West. ie the quantum of direct trains from Pontypridd and north thereof to Central remains at 6 tph, but the extra trains go directly to the Bay, with a change required at Queen Street for Central (assuming that is quicker than waiting for a direct service).

 

[AdamWW]

I was under the impression of the 12 south of Pontypridd, six went to the Bay, four went via Llandaf to Central and beyond, and two went around the city line to Central, reflecting capacity constraints at Cardiff West. ie the quantum of direct trains from Pontypridd and north thereof to Central remains at 6 tph, but the extra trains go directly to the Bay, with a change required at Queen Street for Central (assuming that is quicker than waiting for a direct service).

I didn't think that for trains from Pontypridd there was a "beyond" after Central, aside from heading back North up the City Line.

 

[59CosG95]

According to signage, all overhead wires from "RAD 1m 39ch (between NR/CVL boundary & Ely Paper Mills) to RAD 4m 41ch (junction with CAM) and CAM 2m 55ch (west of the old station at Maindy) to 11m 73ch (between Treforest Estate & Treforest), from 8:00 last Tuesday.

This may mean more to other readers than it does to me.

I've put the approx points for that in bold.

 

[AdamWW]

I've put the approx points for that in bold.

Thanks!

(Though what is "CAM" - the "main line" from Central to Radyr and onwards north?)

 

[Last Hurrah]

When the Metro Service is launched to great fanfare, it should attract the curiosity of non rail travelling commuters, along with shoppers and leisure travellers alike who may consider leaving the car at home . . . for once . .

TFW need to ensure from day one, they get it right - commuter services have sufficient capacity to avoid people being left behind due to overcrowding & arriving late for work, particularly at stations closer to Central/ Queen St

Cancellations . . . one can imagine negative headlines generated in printed media & social media - all this money being spent, etc, etc

With regards to extra trains around the City Line (Danescourt, Waungron, etc) but not stopping - could some flexibility be built in for ‘some’ to stop - would benefit when an event at CC stadium

 

[59CosG95]

Thanks!

(Though what is "CAM" - the "main line" from Central to Radyr and onwards north?)

That's the ELR for the "central" of the non-Rhymney lines - Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil. "THT" is the Treherbert branch, and "ABD" the Aberdare one.

 

[The exile]

Maybe the sign is to remind drivers who should stop there. Presumably a similar sign at Treforest?

There’s been one of that sort of sign either side of Treforest Estate for years -presumably just as a memory jogger for a station that is one of the few valleys stops where not everything does (like the “what was the aspect of the last signal?” That I’ve seen somewhere…). Do the stations either side of Gilfach Fargoed have similar?

 

[anthony263]

I've seen the cityline handle more than 2tph. Although only a few times per day when we had Treherbert services diverted due to the cwmbargoed freight taking its path between central and Queen street.

I think we'll see 3tph in either direction looping radyr-central-queen st-landaf-radyr and 3tph doing it the other direction. Might be tight trying to path them through Cardiff West Junction

 

[AdamWW]

I've seen the cityline handle more than 2tph. Although only a few times per day when we had Treherbert services diverted due to the cwmbargoed freight taking its path between central and Queen street.

I think we'll see 3tph in either direction looping radyr-central-queen st-landaf-radyr and 3tph doing it the other direction. Might be tight trying to path them through Cardiff West Junction

If so it's a shame they couldn't make all three stoppers - 20 minute intervals would be a significant improvement over 30.

As it is, the City Line will be one of the few parts of the core Valley Lines to see no improvement and for some people things will be worse (if the trains no longer start at Radyr they are likely to be quite busy when they arrive in the morning rush hour, though I suppose it won't be as bad as pre-Covid, and the trains are likely to be longer).

 

[bradleyd]

A lot of track work must be done at Taff's well depot as 398008 moving around the depot under its own power

I was on one of the express rail replacement buses to Pontypridd the other day, and as we were on the A470 outside the depot, there looked to be a train inside, I didn't have my glasses on, but it didn't look like any of the existing valley lines trains, aany chance it's one of the new tram trains, or have they not been built yet?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2023 ==

The Treforest Estate sign is presumably referring to the next station, though why it needs a sign I don't know.

It looks as if not all trains stop there (unlike most stations on the routes through Taffs Well).

It's only the Merthyr trains, I believe, that actually stop at tref estate

 

[Bob Price]

I was on one of the express rail replacement buses to Pontypridd the other day, and as we were on the A470 outside the depot, there looked to be a train inside, I didn't have my glasses on, but it didn't look like any of the existing valley lines trains, aany chance it's one of the new tram trains, or have they not been built yet?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2023 ==

Yes, there are four Class 398's up there. One was in the depot when I was up there on Monday

 

[bradleyd]

I think I'm going to have to keep my eyes out (and my glasses on) when I go past on the RRB each day next week, and may have to have a bike along there one day when I have my bike back (from next weekend) and stop outside and have a closer look

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2023 ==

Badly taken photo (with 5.5* zoom), but I hadn't realised how visible the line of electric pylons/gantries(?) would be from the hillside above the station/the graig

 

[Hwnt52]

Progress at Dinas Rhondda - lengthy redoubling and a new platform.

 

[louis97]

I'm not disputing what you read.

It does seem like an odd scheme though, to have 6 (or 8 if the stoppers are extra) trains an hour going down the City Line one way and just the two stoppers the other. So I wonder if what you read was phrased badly and actually meant something slightly different (i.e. as has been suggested, 3 an hour each way).

I thought I read that the City Line only had the capacity for 2 tph but maybe that's wrong.

The reason I can think of to run a one-way scheme like this would be to reduce conflicting moves - but by having all the trains running onto the City Line going South that just seems to increase conflicting moves at Radyr though maybe it helps at Central.

City Line will get 2tph in each direction. This will be the 2tph from/to Treherbert/Aberdare/Merthyr which dont go to Bay. It means you will only have 2tph turning around at Central. 4tph will do Radyr to Central via Queen Street, two of which will continue back towards Radyr via the City Line. However it does mean you could end up with trains via the City Line not having the same origin into Cardiff and destination out of Cardiff.

 

[yorkie]

This is an infrastructure thread to discuss updates regarding the South Wales Metro project.

We welcome any other related topic, but we do ask that these are posted elsewhere; either in an existing thread, or please create one, if there isn't one already.

Thanks.

 

[Dai Corner]

ITV Wales News reported from Llandaff station just now.

A TfW representative said the OLE there was energised today and the first electric trains are expected to run in about 18 months time. There were the usual safety warnings about trespass, emphasising the likely consequences of coming into contact with the 25kV ("100 times as powerful as the electricity in your home").

A BTP officer mentioned the recent cable theft and resulting cost and disruption.

 

[AdamWW]

ITV Wales News reported from Llandaff station just now.

A TfW representative said the OLE there was energised today and the first electric trains are expected to run in about 18 months time. There were the usual safety warnings about trespass, emphasising the likely consequences of coming into contact with the 25kV ("100 times as powerful as the electricity in your home").

A BTP officer mentioned the recent cable theft and resulting cost and disruption.

Curious.

As I said above I saw a sign giving the extent of the wires to be turned on as including CAM 2m 55ch (west of the old station at Maindy) to 11m 73ch (between Treforest Estate & Treforest) (thanks to 59CosG95 for adding the explanations in bold).

Wouldn't that include LLandaf?

The sign said that power was due to be turned on on 23rd May and when I looked at it again on Monday the date had been covered by a handwritten sticker saying "Now".

 

[59CosG95]

Curious.

As I said above I saw a sign giving the extent of the wires to be turned on as including CAM 2m 55ch (west of the old station at Maindy) to 11m 73ch (between Treforest Estate & Treforest) (thanks to 59CosG95 for adding the explanations in bold).

Wouldn't that include LLandaf?

The sign said that power was due to be turned on on 23rd May and when I looked at it again on Monday the date had been covered by a handwritten sticker saying "Now".

That does include Llandaf - apologies for not putting Llandaf's mileage in!

 

[AdamWW]

That does include Llandaf - apologies for not putting Llandaf's mileage in!

I didn't think you missed anything.

What I meant was that if those mileages do include Llandaf, then the sign I saw was not consistent with the statement that the power at Llandaf was turned on today, as opposed to a few days earlier.

 

[59CosG95]

I didn't think you missed anything.

What I meant was that if those mileages do include Llandaf, then the sign I saw was not consistent with the statement that the power at Llandaf was turned on today, as opposed to a few days earlier.

Ah I see - I think there's always a slight delay in reporting that it's to be treated as live, and reporting that the wires are in fact energised, just in case any faults come up.

 

[Markdvdman]

Well the steward at Merthyr said the rail works have been extended for a 6th week next week on the Merthyr line. How far I do not know but it is not good!!

 

[AdamWW]

Ah I see - I think there's always a slight delay in reporting that it's to be treated as live, and reporting that the wires are in fact energised, just in case any faults come up.

Ah.

The sign said both:
"Shall be energised"
and
"Must be considered live"
from 23rd May.

It did say "from" not "on", I suppose.

 

[CapitalStar378]

18 months time? So December 2024 for the 398s to start in service? This seems a rather long testing/training period to say the least. Why have all the OLE in place so soon if this is the case?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Jun 2023 ==

ITV Wales News reported from Llandaff station just now.

A TfW representative said the OLE there was energised today and the first electric trains are expected to run in about 18 months time. There were the usual safety warnings about trespass, emphasising the likely consequences of coming into contact with the 25kV ("100 times as powerful as the electricity in your home").

A BTP officer mentioned the recent cable theft and resulting cost and disruption.