A GHOST TRAIN?

Occasionally if you look very quickly on Newport Station, you may see the platform indicators flagging up an Ebbw Vale bound train. This may be the closest many rail passengers will come to seeing a ghost train. Despite regularly oft-repeated promises from the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff and more locally elected Labour in Newport representatives, there is no sign any time soon of a permanent rail connection between Ebbw Vale and Newport.

Nothing to see here... move along...

Since the Ebbw railway line reopened in 2008 and the new rail service failed to connect to Newport and the rest of the south east a variety of lame excuses have been offered which barely conceal that fact that the Welsh Government has been dragging its feet. Ironically periodic upgrades to track and signals in and around the Cardiff area meant that services do actually occasionally start and terminate at Newport.

The failure to connect the Ebbw vale line to Newport meant that commuters who live in the communities in the Ebbw valley are unable to travel directly to Newport by train and have little choice but to use their cars. They have been denied the opportunity of catching connecting trains to Bristol, Cheltenham, and beyond as well as travelling slightly more rapidly to Cardiff in the morning and back again in the evening.

This was simply a bad short sighted decision that resulted in commuters having little choice but to choose to drive to work. This lack of an easily accessible alternative helped to feed congestion on the M4. If we are lucky at some as yet undetermined future date the Ebbw vale link may actually begin to benefit those commuters who daily travel east to and from work.

What seems to be missing here in Wales is any real element of reopening old (or building new) railways as has happened in Scotland. In Wales in the last seventeen 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 (which re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (which partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

The reality was that these were largely 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 certainly 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? And some action?

In the meantime the largely non UK owned rail companies have been busy ramping up rail fares and quietly 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 and Welsh Governments and the Department for Transport (in London).

Such duplicity can 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 2017/2018 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.

A Newport bound train from Ebbw Vale surely not?

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 National Assembly term, so that a delivery model that is better suited to the needs of the people in Wales rather than the foreign state-owned railway 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 realistically scoped 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 (which has been in the UDB since 1986), it should not be a case of a station at Llanwern or Magor it must be both as they would all help to reduce road congestion.

A CASE OF YES AND NO...

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.

NORTH OF THE BORDER...

Signs of progress

North of the border there are signs of real progress as work on rebuilding the Borders Railway (at a cost of £294 million (in 2012 prices) is set to start in the New Year. The successful conclusion of this project will re-establish passenger railway services for the first time since 1969 from Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. In 1969, the historic Waverley line which connected the Scottish Borders to the national rail network was closed as part of a wider series of savage cuts to British Railways.

The closure led to a persistent campaign for a return of rail to the region that never failed or diminished in its intensity. The construction of the 30 mile railway, complete with seven new stations will deliver major economic and social development opportunities and offer a fast and efficient railway service. Trains will run every half hour at peak times and journey times between Tweedbank and Edinburgh will take less than one hour.

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

The reopening of the long closed Waverley line in Scotland is a real achievement and shows what’s possible when there is a will. Where is the Welsh commitment to projects to develop and reopen our railways. Locally the Labour in Wales government cannot even commit to the long promised completion of the Ebbw Vale to Newport railway  line, where the track remains in place less improvements to signaling.

The completed rail project should bring inward investment for local communities plus approximately £33 million pounds worth of benefits for the wider Scottish economy. Some 400 jobs will be created and supported through the construction phase and the new rail link should act as a catalyst for increased business development and housing opportunities within easy commuting distance of Edinburgh, as well as providing access to jobs in Edinburgh for local people.  Well done Scotland!

TWO OUT OF THREE...

Something different is going on in Scotland, not quite under the radar, but nearly! Slowly, but surely, almost quietly and certainty with very little fanfare, the last few Scottish Governments have been been systematically reversing Dr Beeching's cuts to rural rail services. Over the last 30 years, some sixty two railway stations in Scotland have quietly reopened - this number is significantly more than anywhere else in the UK. In December 2009 the Airdrie to Bathgate Line which had been closed to regular passenger traffic since 1956 started to run again. This reopened service brought rail to an area which had lived without it for half a century. Rail re-openings have enjoyed a cross party consensus in Scotland. It helps to have both the powers, the political will and a plan - just imagine what we could do here in Wales with just two out of the three? perhaps we could wait for Carwyn...perhaps not!

DELIVERING BETTER RAILWAYS IN WALES

Plaid Cymru, in government, has gone to great lengths to ensure that improvements to current rail services where they can be made, have been made, running 'rail in Wales,for Wales, means that the possibilities of reopening previously closed railway lines and closed railway stations becomes something more than a pipe-dream. It would also make sense to get the powers to take over responsibility for running the tracks from Network Rail - as any rail projects in Wales are going to be well down the list of priorities. There needs to be much better integration of track and train - something that will allow for far greater efficiencies.

There is a clear need to ensure that easily accessible rail services are available to far more people in the near future. Improving infrastructure, including rail, is absolutely vital to the development of the Welsh economy - to create the successful, sustainable, prosperous and green nation that Wales can be. The Glas Cymru model of how a ‘not-for-profit’ company can operate, already provides an excellent example of what's possible and could have great potential for the delivery of much better and more integrated rail services here in Wales.

It's pretty obvious that the rail franchise agreement for Wales needs a complete overhaul and currently delivers little to the the people of Wales. So Plaid will seek to ensure that the responsibility for the service is transferred entirely to the Welsh Government and create a not for profit company to run the service. it also makes sense to complete the devolution of responsibility and funding for Network Rail in order to complete the work of electrifying the Great Western Main Line to Swansea, electrify the Valley Lines Network and put in place a plan for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line and the Marches Line.

Plaid Cymru's commitment to putting the management of Welsh railways in the hands of a 'not for profit' company when the current franchise contract with Arriva Trains Wales ends in 2018 is significant major step forward. This will enable the Welsh Government to develop a transport system to suit the needs of the people of Wales, rather than see rail transport in Wales merely seen as previously being a mere add on to transport policy of England.

Significant savings could also be made with the possibilities of reinvestment projects such as re-opening lines across Wales, improving journey times or purchasing additional rolling stock. The development of an All-Wales transport network complete with integrated ticketing and timetables across public transport in Wales.

Plaid will also seek to increase the frequency of rail services between Cardiff and the west of Wales, and from Fishguard to the east, and examine Opportunities to introduce light-rail links in parts of the country, as well as enabling direct services between Ebbw Vale and Newport. Plaid will support more services across mid Wales. Following the success of the Ebbw Vale service, Plaid will also work to reopen services on disused lines where there is a good case to do so.