As elements of it directly affect Wales and as far as it goes, I cautiously welcome the new Network Rail modernisation programme which was announced last Tuesday. The electrification of the Great Western line from Swansea to London is the commitment to extend electrification to some of the Valley lines into Cardiff. Some £ 350 million pounds worth of investment has been allocated to electrify the Valley lines into Cardiff.
I have serious concerns about the apparent exclusion of the final stage of the Ebbw Vale line into Abertillery and into Newport from the plan and the timescale. The Network Rail plan suggests that even its somewhat limited Valley lines electrification programme will not be completed until around 2020. From an economic point of view it would make more sense to commence work on the Valley lines electrification programme as soon as practically possible.
What missing as far as I can see is any real element of reopening old (or building new) railways as has happened in Scotland. In Wales in the last thirteen and half years there have been two successful railway re-openings carried out by Network Rail at the request of the National Assembly; the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Line (re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).
These were administrative rather than legislative projects, and but for the existence of the National Assembly it is unlikely that they would have been hauled up from where they lingered on Network Rails’ priority list. The National Assembly, has been (with a few exceptions) been pretty muted when it comes to making the case for rail. This has not been the case in Scotland, where bills to reopen old railways have been vigorously debated, scrutinised, amended and passed by the Scottish Parliament. If we are serious about integrated public transport then we are going to have to get serious about how we are going to develop and redevelop our public transport infrastructure.
The Transport (Wales) Act which came into effect in February 2006 gave the National Assembly powers (if not the political will) to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system, how much longer do we have to wait to see some vision? In the meantime the rail companies have been busy continuing to ramp up rail fares and attempting to reduce rail services (they have been thwarted in the later endeavour by some well organised local pressure groups in the case of Severn Tunnel and Chepstow in South East Gwent). All of these things have been done with the tacit co-operation of various Westminster Governments and the Department for Transport (in London).
Such duplicity has never been acceptable – it would be nice if the government in Cardiff woke from its self induced slumbers and took the long term view, and actually put its money where its mouth is and work to redevelop our rail services, boost the development of rail freight and to co-ordinate rail and bus services across the whole of Wales. To do this effectively Wales needs to have full control of its transport policy and transport budget devolved as quickly as possible and the franchise when it is renewed in 2017 needs to be run on a not for profit basis.
The creation of a not-for-distributable-profit organisation to run Welsh railways is vital; profits would be available to invest in rail services. This could mean more frequent services in the South Wales valleys, more frequent journeys to West Wales and on the Cambrian line, as well as additional services between the north and south of Wales. This could also mean more investment in new rolling stock to help keep pace with increasing passenger demand. Now, the clock is ticking as most of the preparatory work for the re-franchising needs to be undertaken during the current Assembly term, so that a delivery model that is better suited to the needs of the people in Wales rather than the shareholders dividend can be developed.
Here in the south east, Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow and Severn Tunnel railway stations should be real local transport hubs, with fully integrated local bus services. Better facilities for passengers are needed and the provision of adequate safe secure parking facilities is urgently required. A feasibility studies into the development of a Parkway Station at Little Mill and the possibilities of re-opening the railway line from Little Mill to Usk and the development of a new railway station west of the town of Usk would benefit local commuters and rail travellers and reduce congestion.
The re-opening of Pontrilas Railway station (in south Herefordshire) for passenger traffic (and timber shipments) would also help, as would a feasibility study into developing regional rail freight services, removing heavy Lorries from local roads. Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. One real local priority is the completion of the final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport needs to be completed and railway stations at Caerleon, Llanwern and Magor would all help to reduce road congestion.
Showing posts with label Swansea to London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swansea to London. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 January 2013
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
A GREEN LIGHT?
Like many people I welcome the proposals to introduce electrification to the Valleys Lines rail network, something that is long-overdue and will be an important investment in our country’s somewhat neglected transport system. I view the proposed if limited electrification of parts of Valleys Lines network as a good start, with more to follow. What we should get is the electrification of the following lines:
The omission of any reference to reopening the final stage of the line from Ebbw Vale to Newport is disappointing and is something that needs immediate action. Over the medium term electrification should be extended to the other Gwent lines, through to Abergavenny and Chepstow.
If the governments in Cardiff and London were serious about our railways then serious consideration also needs to be given to looking at reconnecting some of our towns to the rail network. A good follow on would be reconnecting Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Builth Wells to the network, reopening the Llangefni and Amlwch on Ynys Mon, improving North – South rail communications and getting freight off road and back onto our railways.
- Cardiff Central to Cardiff Queen Street
- Cardiff Queen Street to Aberdare
- Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay
- Cardiff Queen Street to Coryton
- Newport to Ebbw Vale
- Cardiff Central to Maesteg via Pontyclun, Bridgend
- Abercynon to Merthyr Tydfil
- Grangetown to Penarth
- Cardiff Central to Danescourt via Radyr (City Line)
- Cardiff Queen Street to Rhymney
- Pontypridd to Treherbert
- Cardiff Central to Bridgend via Barry - Bridgend (Vale of Glamorgan)
- Barry to Barry Island
- Bridgend to Swansea
The omission of any reference to reopening the final stage of the line from Ebbw Vale to Newport is disappointing and is something that needs immediate action. Over the medium term electrification should be extended to the other Gwent lines, through to Abergavenny and Chepstow.
If the governments in Cardiff and London were serious about our railways then serious consideration also needs to be given to looking at reconnecting some of our towns to the rail network. A good follow on would be reconnecting Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Builth Wells to the network, reopening the Llangefni and Amlwch on Ynys Mon, improving North – South rail communications and getting freight off road and back onto our railways.
Monday, 7 March 2011
THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER!
The three London based parties had a pretty poor record in the old parliament when it came to standing up for Wales. Things did not get off to a good start in this still relatively new parliament either - especially when the new Con Dem Government refused to either commit to or provide a timetable to develop a high speed rail link to Swansea - sorry make that Cardiff.
Originally New Labour only proposed to electrify and improve the rail line as far as Bristol, and only after the intervention of the Plaid driven One Wales Government and Ieuan Wyn Jones did they reluctantly agree to propose to electrify the line as far as Swansea.
In the long months that followed the emergence of the ConDem Government in Westminster, they were just a tad evasive when it comes to committing to the extending the electrification programme into Wales. And we are seriously expected to believe that Wales is a ConDem, let alone a Labour priority – I think not.
Now of course now it's not just the Swansea - London railway line that needs electrification, there are plenty of other more local lines including the North Wales Coast line and the Valley lines where the National Assembly can make a real difference to transport links and people’s lives. We should also not forget the Severn Tunnel diversionary line, which lies entirely outside of Wales, but, is particularly important.
So why is the Severn Tunnel diversion route important you may well ask? I mention it because, the proposed multi-million pound upgrade and electrification of the rail line between London and Cardiff, which if it goes ahead should be completed by 2017 and which should cut 20 minutes off the existing journey times, but this would only fix only part of the problem.
It's pretty simple really, when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble in Gloucestershire. Any plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from Network Rail’s plans in 2008/2009.
Talk to (or listen to) anyone who works the rails (or anyone who has relatives who work on the rails) in the south and they will tell you that the aging Severn Tunnel is going to require more maintenance as time passes, yet it remains a vital transport link, but it ranks pretty low on Network Rails list of priorities.
Interestingly enough back in November 2008 when Gordon Brown was running the shop, the Office of Rail Regulation’s settlement for Network Rail allocated some £26 billion pounds some 2.4 billion less than requested. This has forced Network Rail to drop a number of projects - if you think this was a short sighted decision just wait until the ConDem cuts really kick in!
Anyway, you may have worked out by now that one of the project that was dropped was a plan to restore the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon, at the moment the reduced capacity of this line adds an hour to passenger journeys as trains to and from Wales have to wait for services coming in the opposite direction, and lets not forget any impact on rail freight movements.
This is a vital link between Wales and London (and Europe) and is the only alternative to using the Severn Tunnel. In the event of a major accident or incident in the tunnel, perhaps a crash, a fire or even flooding, then we need a fully operational alternative so that passenger and freight services to London are not affected.
It is pretty essential that re-doubling work on the line, which would allow at least an hourly service, is carried out as quickly as possible. While the upgrade and electrification programme is under way on the mainline, its only common sense to electrify the line all the way from Severn Tunnel Junction through to Swindon as well.
So at the moment Wales is one of the few counties in Europe, save for Albania and Moldova to have no electrified rail-lines, this is one exclusive club we do not need to be a member of. While the Con Dems have finally committed to electrification of the railway lines from Cardiff to London, admittedly with about as much grace as someone having wisdom teeth extracted, they have finally done so.
Having got this far we now need a concrete commitment to a timetable as to when the job will get actually gets done. Personally I would also ask them to start the work from the Cardiff end of the line. When it comes to electrified railways it used to be a case of literally for Wales see England - and that was never acceptable! However, as was once said, things can only get better !
Originally New Labour only proposed to electrify and improve the rail line as far as Bristol, and only after the intervention of the Plaid driven One Wales Government and Ieuan Wyn Jones did they reluctantly agree to propose to electrify the line as far as Swansea.
In the long months that followed the emergence of the ConDem Government in Westminster, they were just a tad evasive when it comes to committing to the extending the electrification programme into Wales. And we are seriously expected to believe that Wales is a ConDem, let alone a Labour priority – I think not.
Now of course now it's not just the Swansea - London railway line that needs electrification, there are plenty of other more local lines including the North Wales Coast line and the Valley lines where the National Assembly can make a real difference to transport links and people’s lives. We should also not forget the Severn Tunnel diversionary line, which lies entirely outside of Wales, but, is particularly important.
So why is the Severn Tunnel diversion route important you may well ask? I mention it because, the proposed multi-million pound upgrade and electrification of the rail line between London and Cardiff, which if it goes ahead should be completed by 2017 and which should cut 20 minutes off the existing journey times, but this would only fix only part of the problem.
It's pretty simple really, when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble in Gloucestershire. Any plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from Network Rail’s plans in 2008/2009.
Talk to (or listen to) anyone who works the rails (or anyone who has relatives who work on the rails) in the south and they will tell you that the aging Severn Tunnel is going to require more maintenance as time passes, yet it remains a vital transport link, but it ranks pretty low on Network Rails list of priorities.
Interestingly enough back in November 2008 when Gordon Brown was running the shop, the Office of Rail Regulation’s settlement for Network Rail allocated some £26 billion pounds some 2.4 billion less than requested. This has forced Network Rail to drop a number of projects - if you think this was a short sighted decision just wait until the ConDem cuts really kick in!
Anyway, you may have worked out by now that one of the project that was dropped was a plan to restore the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon, at the moment the reduced capacity of this line adds an hour to passenger journeys as trains to and from Wales have to wait for services coming in the opposite direction, and lets not forget any impact on rail freight movements.
This is a vital link between Wales and London (and Europe) and is the only alternative to using the Severn Tunnel. In the event of a major accident or incident in the tunnel, perhaps a crash, a fire or even flooding, then we need a fully operational alternative so that passenger and freight services to London are not affected.
It is pretty essential that re-doubling work on the line, which would allow at least an hourly service, is carried out as quickly as possible. While the upgrade and electrification programme is under way on the mainline, its only common sense to electrify the line all the way from Severn Tunnel Junction through to Swindon as well.
So at the moment Wales is one of the few counties in Europe, save for Albania and Moldova to have no electrified rail-lines, this is one exclusive club we do not need to be a member of. While the Con Dems have finally committed to electrification of the railway lines from Cardiff to London, admittedly with about as much grace as someone having wisdom teeth extracted, they have finally done so.
Having got this far we now need a concrete commitment to a timetable as to when the job will get actually gets done. Personally I would also ask them to start the work from the Cardiff end of the line. When it comes to electrified railways it used to be a case of literally for Wales see England - and that was never acceptable! However, as was once said, things can only get better !
Friday, 14 January 2011
A WORTHY ENDEAVOUR, BUT...
Around 80 south Wales political and business leaders have signed a petition calling for the electrification of the rail line from Swansea to London. The Great Western Partnership's letter aims to tell the UK transport minister Phillip Hammond that it would provide an essential economic lifeline. This is a worthy effort, but, I suspect that the Con Dem's are not going to listen any time soon, the Welsh Secretary is currently too busy fighting against a proposed railway project that cuts through her constituency, to be bothered with Wales, even if she remembers where she left it?
I think we would all be better off putting our efforts into encouraging the National Assembly Government to start electrifying the valley lines to Cardiff (as first step) - I mention this because Liverpool has had an electrified rail-link to London for some years,but, I do wonder how exactly this has benefited the city? Starting to electrify the valley lines (something that does not have to be done in one go) would bring lasting benefit to our valley communities and seriously improve our transport infrastructure. Railway wise we need to do something different that has lasting benefits for all our communities.
I think we would all be better off putting our efforts into encouraging the National Assembly Government to start electrifying the valley lines to Cardiff (as first step) - I mention this because Liverpool has had an electrified rail-link to London for some years,but, I do wonder how exactly this has benefited the city? Starting to electrify the valley lines (something that does not have to be done in one go) would bring lasting benefit to our valley communities and seriously improve our transport infrastructure. Railway wise we need to do something different that has lasting benefits for all our communities.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
SEVERN TUNNEL - TIME FOR SOME LONG TERM THINKING
Now don't get me wrong I warmly welcome the plans to electrify the Swansea to London rail line - this is long overdue and down to some exceptionally hard negotiating by Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones (AM). The multi-million pound upgrade and electrification of the rail line between London and Swansea, which should be completed by 2017 and should also cut 20 minutes off the existing journey time is to be warmly welcomed.
However, when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble (in Gloucestershire) any plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from network Rail’s plans last November.
The aging Severn Tunnel requires more maintenance as time passes, it remains a vital transport link, but ranks pretty low on Network Rails list of priorities. Last November, the Office of Rail Regulation’s settlement for Network Rail allocated some £26 billion pounds some 2.4 billion less than requested; this is disappointing as it has forced Network Rail to drop a number of projects. One project to restore the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon was dropped, the reduced capacity of this line adds an hour to passenger journeys as trains to and from Wales have to wait for services coming in the opposite direction.
We need some original thinking to solve this potential block on our rail links; one of the options being considered as part of the review of proposals for generating energy from the Severn Estuary; is the construction of a smaller barrage or tidal fence close to the Second Severn Crossing. This could relatively easily carry the main rail link from South Wales, this is the kind of joined up original thinking we need to solve the problem of the Severn Tunnel and to generate sustainable energy, both of which we will need in the near future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)