Once again there have been more calls for action in relation to finishing the Ebbw Vale line link into Newport. Fresh Welsh Government transport statistics have shown that some 122,000 journeys took place from the Valleys county to Cardiff (in 2009/2010) in comparison to 2,900 to Newport stations which has no direct link from the Ebbw Vale line.
The South Wales Argus, local people and politicians of every political hue have all been calling for a passenger rail link between Newport and Ebbw Vale for the last ten years. The new Labour run Welsh Government is currently prioritising its National Transport Plan, which apparently includes consideration of the rail link, and a rescheduled delivery plan is set to be published this Autumn.
It should be pretty obvious by now that the chance of finding a sentence containing the phrase ‘priority transport infrastructure project’ and the word ‘Wales’ within any Network Rail and the Department of Transport report is pretty minimal. Recent experience with the proposals to electrify the main line from London to Bristol suggests that they clearly have no concept of Wales or Welsh priorities beyond when they dovetail onto the end of larger infrastructure projects or when our country geographically gets in the way.
Aside from the potential economic benefits for the city centre, and the convenience of a quicker link to the main line services from Newport station there is another potential benefit. If the Newport link is open then the Gwent Valleys (and Newport) could benefit from an expanded service that runs from Ebbw Vale to Abergavenny and back again through the day. A better service, means more passengers and will help to reduce congestion on our roads. Further delay and meaningless waffle from the Welsh Government on this important rail connection is not good enough! Get it done!
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