South Wales 'Metro' updates

[MikePJ]

TfW's Communities Facebook page has published details (linked here) of upcoming Bay Line works:


TfW's website (linked here) also confirms that the platform switch will happen during the closure this month:

Interesting, thanks! It’s going to be a busy month on the Bay branch.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Does anyone know whether they still intentioned to introduce step free access from the street to platform at Heath High Level?

 

[MikePJ]

Does anyone know whether they still intentioned to introduce step free access from the street to platform at Heath High Level?

I believe so. Similarly, there's supposed to be a new accessible footbridge with lifts at Cathays, but I suspect that these have been postponed to later phases of the project to help with TfW's cashflow.

 

[CapitalStar378]

I believe so. Similarly, there's supposed to be a new accessible footbridge with lifts at Cathays, but I suspect that these have been postponed to later phases of the project to help with TfW's cashflow.

Much like Crwys Road then.

 

[Cardiff123]

To be fair to TfW, it's an achievement that the CVL Metro project has been completed at all. It's been funded largely by EU structural funding, that could've been pulled thanks to Brexit, but was secured by Welsh Govt just before Brexit. The UK Govt contribution to the CVL project has been pennies in comparison to the EU funding contribution.
Then we had a global pandemic that put a stop to all upgrade work, followed by rampant inflation. No doubt if it had been a DfT project, all of those factors would've led to the project's cancellation. It's a credit to Welsh Govt and TfW that the project has been seen through to it's completion.

 

[Envoy]

To be fair to TfW, it's an achievement that the CVL Metro project has been completed at all. It's been funded largely by EU structural funding, that could've been pulled thanks to Brexit, but was secured by Welsh Govt just before Brexit. The UK Govt contribution to the CVL project has been pennies in comparison to the EU funding contribution.
Then we had a global pandemic that put a stop to all upgrade work, followed by rampant inflation. No doubt if it had been a DfT project, all of those factors would've led to the project's cancellation. It's a credit to Welsh Govt and TfW that the project has been seen through to it's completion.

Well, we are still not at completion but we are near the point where the present network is upgraded and as you say, credit must go to the Welsh Government and TFW for getting this done. What is now of concern is the Senedd election in a year’s time when a party unfriendly to the railways might get elected and scupper any further work. At the top of the priority list must surely be fixing the capacity problem at Cardiff West junction that limits the City Line to a half hourly service. This is of course on the section of track that is controlled by Network Rail.

 

[Cambrian359]

To be fair to TfW, it's an achievement that the CVL Metro project has been completed at all. It's been funded largely by EU structural funding, that could've been pulled thanks to Brexit, but was secured by Welsh Govt just before Brexit. The UK Govt contribution to the CVL project has been pennies in comparison to the EU funding contribution.
Then we had a global pandemic that put a stop to all upgrade work, followed by rampant inflation. No doubt if it had been a DfT project, all of those factors would've led to the project's cancellation. It's a credit to Welsh Govt and TfW that the project has been seen through to it's completion.

While I agree it’s impressive they have still got this far with the Cardiff valleys metro system when compared to the likes of HS2 which has been repeatedly cut back it should be noted north wales promised extra services along the coast are seemingly postponed indefinitely (the 2017 promised Liverpool to Llandudno/shrewsbury/Cardiff & Manchester to Bangor services) along with cancellations of long established services on the Cambrian line and other promised extra Cambrian services are now unlikely to happen in the name of savings for TFW.

 

[MikePJ]

The upside is that TfW are seeing significant improvements in revenue, (the most recent quarterly revenue was £41.9m vs £36.4m for the same quarter in the previous year) so that will help both justify and fund future investment.

 

[MatthewHutton]

The upside is that TfW are seeing significant improvements in revenue, (the most recent quarterly revenue was £41.9m vs £36.4m for the same quarter in the previous year) so that will help both justify and fund future investment.

That is good.

I was very worried that the South Wales Metro wouldn’t produce benefits.

 

[Meerkat]

That is good.

I was very worried that the South Wales Metro wouldn’t produce benefits.

It’s a £5m increase across all of Wales. That won’t buy much on the railway…..

 

[slowroad]

It’s a £5m increase across all of Wales. That won’t buy much on the railway…..

And surely it looks broadly in line with the wider industry picture?

 

[MatthewHutton]

And surely it looks broadly in line with the wider industry picture?

They had the fourth highest increase in journeys in the last quarter and were in the leading group all on ~15% - https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/voqeicwn/passenger-rail-usage-oct-dec-2024.pdf

Also to be fair the increases happen pretty slowly. Chilterns Oxford extension showed a slow increase over about 5 years - but at the end ridership was up by ~50% - as per https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/1476/table-1223-passenger-journeys-by-operator.ods ridership was up from 19.7m in 2011/12 to 29.3m in 2018/19

 

[slowroad]

They had the fourth highest increase in journeys in the last quarter and were in the leading group all on ~15% - https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/voqeicwn/passenger-rail-usage-oct-dec-2024.pdf

Also to be fair the increases happen pretty slowly. Chilterns Oxford extension showed a slow increase over about 5 years - but at the end ridership was up by ~50% - as per https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/1476/table-1223-passenger-journeys-by-operator.ods ridership was up from 19.7m in 2011/12 to 29.3m in 2018/19

Yep, but that figure for Wales comes after a weak recovery from the pandemic, with journeys still about 6% down on the same quarter in 2019. Admittedly this is a bit better than the industry average (ex Elizabeth line). Also, doesn’t the Chiltern figure reflect abstraction?

 

[CapitalStar378]

The figures are also for a time of frequent disruption to services for the Metro works, so are actually better than they appear.

 

[MatthewHutton]

Yep, but that figure for Wales comes after a weak recovery from the pandemic, with journeys still about 6% down on the same quarter in 2019. Admittedly this is a bit better than the industry average (ex Elizabeth line). Also, doesn’t the Chiltern figure reflect abstraction?

The Chiltern figure likely does include some riders who stopped using GWR - yes.

 

[slowroad]

The figures are also for a time of frequent disruption to services for the Metro works, so are actually better than they appear.

No strikes, though. Swings/roundabouts? Also, but purely anecdotally, the strongest recovery has been on the marches line.

 

[BillStampy]

No strikes, though. Swings/roundabouts? Also, but purely anecdotally, the strongest recovery has been on the marches line.

Seeing how more services are now 4-5 coaches and the MK4s being (somewhat) better than they were in previous years it's not a surprise the Marches have picked up a bit.

It's also good to see the valleys are on an upwards trend, I'm sure many are happy to see the back of the sprinters, specifically on the TAM lines!

 

[WelshBluebird]

I also wonder if any if this is down to a higher percentage of people actually buying tickets / paying thanks to ticket machines at stations that previously didn't have one, the payg scheme and even increased availability of etickets. Purely anecdotal but I know my old man will usually buy a ticket on his phone now rather than board and wait for the guard as was previously the norm (because there were no ticketing facilities).

 

[AdamWW]

Does anyone know why TfW is doing a timetable change on Sunday rather than at a usual timetable change?

I presume it's been planned for a while but I only saw posters about it yesterday.

 

[Cardiff123]

Does anyone know why TfW is doing a timetable change on Sunday rather than at a usual timetable change?

I presume it's been planned for a while but I only saw posters about it yesterday.

Next Sunday is this year's May timetable change date, in line with all other TOC's across Britain.

Train timetables | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

Check Train Times and Timetables | Great Western Railway

Check train times for routes across the South West and GWR network. Find current timetables or create your own personal timetable online.

www.gwr.com

Train Timetables

Departure times. Arrivals. Calling points. Everything you need.

www.scotrail.co.uk

 

[AdamWW]

Next Sunday is this year's May timetable change date, in line with all other TOC's across Britain.

Train timetables | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

Check Train Times and Timetables | Great Western Railway

Check train times for routes across the South West and GWR network. Find current timetables or create your own personal timetable online.

www.gwr.com

Train Timetables

Departure times. Arrivals. Calling points. Everything you need.

www.scotrail.co.uk

Ooops!

Somehow I had it in mind we were already on the "summer" timetable

That makes sense then.

 

[positron]

Next Sunday is this year's May timetable change date, in line with all other TOC's across Britain.

Train timetables | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

Check Train Times and Timetables | Great Western Railway

Check train times for routes across the South West and GWR network. Find current timetables or create your own personal timetable online.

www.gwr.com

Train Timetables

Departure times. Arrivals. Calling points. Everything you need.

www.scotrail.co.uk

Ynyswen station will remain closed

Are there any updates on this? Have they made any progress on it recently? It seems bizzare how long it's taking.

 

[MikePJ]

Are there any updates on this? Have they made any progress on it recently? It seems bizzare how long it's taking.

They stopped work on it over the winter and resumed only in April. https://tfw.wales/projects/metro/south-wales-metro/treherbert-line-transformation

"We have temporarily paused works over the winter, allowing our teams to plan the next and final phase of work. On their return to the site in April 2025, they will complete the station footbridge, resurface the station platforms and install new station furniture ready for it’s opening in Autumn 2025."

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 May 2025 ==

Next Sunday is this year's May timetable change date, in line with all other TOC's across Britain.

Train timetables | Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

tfw.wales

Quoting TfW:

Cardiff and Valleys services​

• Early morning services from Coryton and Caerphilly into Cardiff will be retimed to improve connections to east-bound mainline services at Cardiff Central.
• Late evening services between Rhymney and Caerphilly (Monday - Thursday) will be rail replacement services. There will also continue to be rail replacement buses on this section line of the line during selected periods until late Autumn.
• Treherbert services will be departing earlier both into and out of Cardiff and Merthyr services will be departing slightly later into and out Cardiff.
• Platform 2 at Aberdare station will open and will be used for arrivals only. Train services towards Cardiff will continue to depart from platform 1. Services will leave Aberdare slightly later.
• Ynyswen station will remain closed.

If you're a regular commuter on the lines south of Pontypridd it's also worth knowing that because the Bay line is closed until May 25th, the normal 2tph Pontypridd-Queen St-Cardiff Bay trains are completely withdrawn.

 

[Tomos y Tanc]

Are there any updates on this? Have they made any progress on it recently? It seems bizzare how long it's taking.

No need to hurry with Ynyswen. It's within easy walking distance of Treherbert and Treorci. They should just have closed it, but politics dictated otherwise.

 

[AdamWW]

No need to hurry with Ynyswen. It's within easy walking distance of Treherbert and Treorci. They should just have closed it, but politics dictated otherwise.

Google tells me about a 20 minute walk either way.

If I'd moved to somewhere near a station and it was being proposed that I add a 40 minute round trip walk every time I needed to catch the train, I would not consider myself to be playing politics if I objected (which I would!)

 

[chargesmith]

Looks like the top of the old footbridge at Taffs Well has been taken away, unsure when that happened.

 

[tigermonstera]

Looks like the top of the old footbridge at Taffs Well has been taken away, unsure when that happened.

Apparently bridge removal work started on the 10th, with more to come on the 17th and 24th of this month.

 

[AdamWW]

Apparently bridge removal work started on the 10th, with more to come on the 17th and 24th of this month.

It's a shame. I liked that bridge!

I fully understand why it's been replaced by the ugly but accessible one, and why they wouldn't want to maintain both.

But it does seem a shame that once an accessible bridge has been built, it seems to be too difficult to make sure the lifts work all the time.

 

[tigermonstera]

It's a shame. I liked that bridge!

I fully understand why it's been replaced by the ugly but accessible one, and why they wouldn't want to maintain both.

According to TfW it’s being donated to Blaenavon Heritage Railway. So it will still be around — just in Blaenavon.

 

[AdamWW]

According to TfW it’s being donated to Blaenavon Heritage Railway. So it will still be around — just in Blaenavon.

Well that's something, I suppose!