South Wales 'Metro' updates

[Tomos y Tanc]

I'll summarise these changes below:

- an additional 2 tph from Cardiff Central to Caerphilly
- an additional 2 tph from Cardiff Bay to Pontypridd (the Bay-Queen St shuttle will also remain, but at 2tph, so the Bay will still have a 4tph service)
- the City Line will be served by Aberdare trains (i.e. routed Aberdare-Pontypridd-Radyr-Fairwater-Cardiff Central)

Does that mean the bay platform at Ponty will finally be brought into use?

 

[RJ]

Does that mean the bay platform at Ponty will finally be brought into use?

Platform 1 is used regularly. A bit of a trek from the entrance but not as much as when trains turn in platform 2. Think the tracks have been lifted on the others!

 

[positron]

Does that mean the bay platform at Ponty will finally be brought into use?

Funny that once it's all done it'll stop being used again. Though perhaps a Ponty-Central via city line will run once Cardiff west is upgraded.

 

[Tumbleweed]

I'm sure there will still be engineering works so trams can terminate there.

 

[Avowedsevern]

The commissioning engineer has confirmed that the Treherbert line signalling was commissioned as planned on 13 December (0010hrs to be precise) and that driver training starts 2 January (the Monday after the OHLE is due to be switched on), with the line reopening to passengers on Sunday 11 February.

I wonder what’s changed since the internal document came out a few months ago implying there would be a further delay of a year

 

[positron]

I wonder what’s changed since the internal document came out a few months ago implying there would be a further delay of a year

I mean presumably the works got finished...

In all seriousness was that referring to class 398 usage on the branch rather than the return of passenger service in general?

 

[Tumbleweed]

Apparently the 'behind schedule' rumour was just that according to the loal AM

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I can't wait to see the end of rail replacement buses, and trains running through Rhondda again. Thank you all for your patience this year, there isn't much longer to wait.

It was great to catch up with TFW at Treherbert station for an update on the electrification works.

The teams of orange high vis workers have been flat out from Trehafod to Treherbert modifying stations, lines, and installing new infrastructure to enable the electrification of the line.

Despite rumours, it was confirmed by the Chief Executive that the works are on schedule!

 

[DomDoeslife]

Yes, those are the dates I have - the line is to be regarded as electrified from 29th Dec. 12th Feb is looking like the reopening date I'm now told by a normally reliable source.

If Treherbert OLE is to be completed for the 29th of this month then they have 10-11 days to get it done.

From gathering drone footage this Wednesday (13th), Dinas - Llwynypia has next to no masts between them yet and there are other small gaps to the north and south of Porth.
Pontypridd - Adjacent to Rhondda Heritage Park is all wired and complete.
Treorchy - Ynyswen has masts knitted up with the overhead earth bond conductor but no 25Kv Catenary yet.
The rest (Yellow) is nearly all masts done just a few bits needing all the other gubbins atop and then all knitting together

They're at a really good pace but there is still a huge amount to do if they are aiming to wrap it up before the end of the year.

 

[Avowedsevern]

Apparently the 'behind schedule' rumour was just that according to the loal AM

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Said “rumour” was sourced verbatim from an internal TfW document

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Dec 2023 ==

If Treherbert OLE is to be completed for the 29th of this month then they have 10-11 days to get it done.

From gathering drone footage this Wednesday (13th), Dinas - Llwynypia has next to no masts between them yet and there are other small gaps to the north and south of Porth.
Pontypridd - Adjacent to Rhondda Heritage Park is all wired and complete.
Treorchy - Ynyswen has masts knitted up with the overhead earth bond conductor but no 25Kv Catenary yet.
The rest (Yellow) is nearly all masts done just a few bits needing all the other gubbins atop and then all knitting together

They're at a really good pace but there is still a huge amount to do if they are aiming to wrap it up before the end of the year.

View attachment 148700

Damn boss, why aren’t you uploading this drone footage for us

 

[DomDoeslife]

Said “rumour” was sourced verbatim from an internal TfW document

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Dec 2023 ==


Damn boss, why aren’t you uploading this drone footage for us

 

[Peter Sarf]

If Treherbert OLE is to be completed for the 29th of this month then they have 10-11 days to get it done.

From gathering drone footage this Wednesday (13th), Dinas - Llwynypia has next to no masts between them yet and there are other small gaps to the north and south of Porth.
Pontypridd - Adjacent to Rhondda Heritage Park is all wired and complete.
Treorchy - Ynyswen has masts knitted up with the overhead earth bond conductor but no 25Kv Catenary yet.
The rest (Yellow) is nearly all masts done just a few bits needing all the other gubbins atop and then all knitting together

They're at a really good pace but there is still a huge amount to do if they are aiming to wrap it up before the end of the year.

View attachment 148700

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Zoomer]

Dinas - Llwynypia has next to no masts between them yet and there are other small gaps to the north and south of Porth.

TfW update on Llwynypia to Porth:

Over the Christmas period, our team responsible for installing the Overhead Line Equipment that will power our new electric trains will be installing the foundations for this equipment between Llwynypia and Porth.

Working hours: 23rd to 27th - 24/7 working

Plunge and CHS piling works - 23rd to 27th - daytime shifts (07:00 to 18:00) and nighttime shifts (20:00 to 06:00) where required.

Equipment: RRV's, Movax, BSP hammer, Ballast box, trailers, compressors, noise mitigation panels, concrete skips.


ETA: Smashing footage! Enjoyed watching that

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Dec 2023 ==

Treherbert Line updates as of Dec 2024:

• Jan 2024: Train and driver testing
• Feb 2024: Passenger services resume, Class 150, 2 tph
• Summer 2024: Phased introduction of Class 756
• Late 2024: Ynyswen station re-opening
• Winter 2024/Early 2025: Phased introduction of Class 398

 

[positron]

Great footage! No prizes for guessing why Ynyswen is still closed...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Dec 2023 ==

Interesting to see queen street get a mention I wonder what the new track layout of queen street south will be.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Lovely footage, thanks!

Treherbert Line updates as of Dec 2024:

• Jan 2024: Train and driver testing
• Feb 2024: Passenger services resume, Class 150, 2 tph
• Summer 2024: Phased introduction of Class 756
• Late 2024: Ynyswen station re-opening
• Winter 2024/Early 2025: Phased introduction of Class 398

This timeline has now been properly shared locally too which is good! Will be nice to get an actual date in Feb next.

Am somewhat disappointed that they are only now sharing that Ynyswen station won't reopen with the rest of the line - feels like something they would have known about before now surely?

Also will be interesting how they will swing the introduction of nicer trains for them to be replaced with the tram trains (which whilst new, will surely be a downgrade from the 756's).

 

[Zoomer]

Also will be interesting how they will swing the introduction of nicer trains for them to be replaced with the tram trains (which whilst new, will surely be a downgrade from the 756's).

Are there plans to increase frequency above 2 tph on the Treherbert line? If so, for me at least that would more than make up for losing the 756's.

 

[Western 52]

Are there plans to increase frequency above 2 tph on the Treherbert line? If so, for me at least that would more than make up for losing the 756's.

I think 4tph is the plan?

 

[WelshBluebird]

4 tph is certainly the plan, though they are being somewhat tight lipped about when that will happen. I suspect it won't be until all of the 398's are in service (in which case it may be a while before they start swapping out the 756's and passengers getting the better frequency service).

Ultimately I don't live back there anymore, but still visit friends and family fairly often so the higher frequency service is probably more important to me personally (as I'm quite often waiting almost 30 minutes at Central for the next train). But I suspect it will still be a bit of a hard sell (already seen some comments about the age old toilet issue given the 756's have them).

They are extending the "Rhondda Railcard" for a few months after the line has reopened which shows a little bit of appreciation for the faff passengers have had to deal with which is good, and ultimately I do think that in a few years time once the 398's have been in use for a while running 4 trains per hour down each valley, people will quickly forget the pain and the new improved service will just become the norm as if it has always existed (which I guess is what we want from a railway).

 

[Bob Price]

It will be faster journey times, turn and go service, more capacity and potentially later trams. These are not bad trains, it's the fixation with having a loo on board which very few other short distance trains have. However they are not about to take them out of service and retro fit loos onto trams.

 

[WelshBluebird]

It will be faster journey times, turn and go service, more capacity and potentially later trams. These are not bad trains, it's the fixation with having a loo on board which very few other short distance trains have. However they are not about to take them out of service and retro fit loos onto trams.

Whilst that is true, taking away something that people already have is always going to be a tough sell!

Add to that the fact we are talking about an area that has seen multiple infrastructure related promises fail over the years, where people within very near living memory are used to services and provisions being downgraded rather than improved and where station toilet provisions at stations have been poor to non existent and often closed even where they do exist (not sure what it is like now, but when I was younger and still living at home it was basically a 50:50 coin toss if the toilet at Pontypridd station was going to be open or not). You have to factor all of that in to understand how people are reacting.

Basically they are seeing toilets taken away that they already have, and expecting the promised station toilets to never happen or to be closed a substantial amount of the time.

I agree that the decision has been made and isn't going to be changed, and I do agree that the issue is overblown, but I fully understand people's reaction to it and think TfW need to do a much better job selling the idea to people (and then do a good job of actually delivering the promised provisions and then actually making sure those provisions remain open for people to use).

I actually think a lot of the issues TfW have right now are on the communications side rather than the actual rail side (like I mentioned earlier about only now telling people Ynyswen station isn't going to be open with the rest of the line, or the fact they were so late in actually telling people about the line closure to begin with), but I suspect that is one for another thread!

 

[56xx]

It will be faster journey times, turn and go service, more capacity and potentially later trams. These are not bad trains, it's the fixation with having a loo on board which very few other short distance trains have. However they are not about to take them out of service and retro fit loos onto trams.

Whilst that is true, taking away something that people already have is always going to be a tough sell!

Add to that the fact we are talking about an area that has seen multiple infrastructure related promises fail over the years, where people within very near living memory are used to services and provisions being downgraded rather than improved and where station toilet provisions at stations have been poor to non existent and often closed even where they do exist (not sure what it is like now, but when I was younger and still living at home it was basically a 50:50 coin toss if the toilet at Pontypridd station was going to be open or not). You have to factor all of that in to understand how people are reacting.

Basically they are seeing toilets taken away that they already have, and expecting the promised station toilets to never happen or to be closed a substantial amount of the time.

I agree that the decision has been made and isn't going to be changed, and I do agree that the issue is overblown, but I fully understand people's reaction to it and think TfW need to do a much better job selling the idea to people (and then do a good job of actually delivering the promised provisions and then actually making sure those provisions remain open for people to use).

I actually think a lot of the issues TfW have right now are on the communications side rather than the actual rail side (like I mentioned earlier about only now telling people Ynyswen station isn't going to be open with the rest of the line, or the fact they were so late in actually telling people about the line closure to begin with), but I suspect that is one for another thread!

I don't think it would be impossible to retro fit loos to the 398s. They may need a complex retention tank but the saloon dimensions are big enough.

Taking one unit at a time out of service would not be a big deal.

Are any of the 756s to remain on TAM services. It would be nice if alternative services could be 756 / 398 or is that not possible.

Fixed toilets open all day at unstaffed stations is a no brainer.

 

[John R]

I don't think it would be impossible to retro fit loos to the 398s. They may need a complex retention tank but the saloon dimensions are big enough.

Are any of the 756s to remain on TAM services. It would be nice if alternative services could be 756 / 398 or is that not possible.

No, will be all 398.

And re the first point, AIUI toilets add a lot of weight, and also you then have additional extra cost/maintenance in terms of tanking/untanking etc, for which the Taffs Well depot hasn’t been designed for.

 

[Western 52]

No, will be all 398.

And re the first point, AIUI toilets add a lot of weight, and also you then have additional extra cost/maintenance in terms of tanking/untanking etc, for which the Taffs Well depot hasn’t been designed for.

Plus the loss of seats to make room for quite a large PRM compliant toilet.

 

[CardiffKid]

Slight update ahead of May 2024 (not strictly infrastructure I know).

Last week @tfwrail released some information on service changes for June 24. There will be a Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay service and all Aberdare services will run via the city line.

https://twitter.com/foxy_michael/status/1737404137933816050

 

[56xx]

No, will be all 398.

And re the first point, AIUI toilets add a lot of weight, and also you then have additional extra cost/maintenance in terms of tanking/untanking etc, for which the Taffs Well depot hasn’t been designed for.

So 24 756s will be well utilised on the Rhymney runs or wasted on short hops between Coryton and the Bay or Penarth

 

[John R]

So 24 756s will be well utilised on the Rhymney runs or wasted on short hops between Coryton and the Bay or Penarth

They won’t run to the Bay. Only 398s will go there once the final service is in place. 756s will also go to Barry and Bridgend.

 

[allaction]

Slight update ahead of May 2024 (not strictly infrastructure I know).

Last week @tfwrail released some information on service changes for June 24. There will be a Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay service and all Aberdare services will run via the city line.

https://twitter.com/foxy_michael/status/1737404137933816050

There must be a decent number of commuters to Cathays from
Aberdare line stations who will feel hard done by for having to change en route in the future. Journeys to Queen Street will be via Central too…

Also far fewer seats than at present are likely to be available for passengers joining at City Line stations - and there will be no additional trains on this section either…

 

[CardiffKid]

There must be a decent number of commuters to Cathays from
Aberdare line stations who will feel hard done by for having to change en route in the future. Journeys to Queen Street will be via Central too…

Plenty of options to change en route or go via the city line and stay on to Cathays.

How much longer would a journey via Fairwater etc be (assuming no long wait/delay at Central)?

 

[John R]

Plenty of options to change en route or go via the city line and stay on to Cathays.

How much longer would a journey via Fairwater etc be (assuming no long wait/delay at Central)?

Would take at least 25 mins from Radyr to Cathays via Fairwater, compared with 8 direct via Llandaf. So not really an option.

 

[CardiffKid]

OK but with 6tph from Ponty to Cathays the short way plus 2tph the long way it’s not a massive inconvenience for those going to Cathays is it?

 

[allaction]

OK but with 6tph from Ponty to Cathays the short way plus 2tph the long way it’s not a massive inconvenience for those going to Cathays is it?

Aberdare passengers will have been used to direct services to Cathays (and shorter journeys to Queen Street and Central) since services recommenced decades ago.

If they are going to change trains, they will have to give up practically a guaranteed seat on a train mid-journey, step into whatever the weather is, and look for another seat.

It’s a question of perception: look what you used to have - and look what you’ve got to look forward to in the future.

Meanwhile, Treherbert and Merthyr lines commuters continue to enjoy a more direct point to point service as before…