STILL WAITING FOR THAT TRAIN?

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

The news that the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff has agreed to make funds available to finally upgrade the final short section of track to connect the Ebbw Vale line to Newport should be welcomed. It is worth noting that the rail service from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff has been running for slightly under 7 years.  Clearly, despite the cuts passed on from Westminster by the Cons Dem Coalition Government, the money is available to pay for the work. So why has it taken so long?  Have their been a lack of vision? A lack of understanding as to how this link will help bring in a more connected rail service and open up the possibilities of commuters travelling direct to Newport o catch trains to work further a field? The decision, if action, does not necessarily mean that any additional rail services will necessarily be provided by the rail franchise holder, when the franchise is renewed. So we all may yet have a long wait for this particular train…

AND JUST LIKE THAT…

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Photo: Ian Brewer)

And just like that it was gone as if it had never been, blink and you might have missed it... Now that the extensive maintenance in and around Cardiff has finished normal service has been resumed, with trains on the Ebbw Vale line running directly to and from Cardiff. Between May 1^st and May 18^th services ran into Newport with regular services ferrying passengers into our capital city. For 18 days is was entirely practical for potential commuters in the Ebbw valley to make connections to Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham and beyond rather than put up with the nonsensical idea of riding the train westward into Cardiff and then picking up a connections eastward. No more, normal service has been restored, which raise the question as to who exactly is making the decision to run services direct into Cardiff, ignoring the potential economic benefits to commuters and to the region – Network Rail? Arriva Trains Wales? The Department for Transport or the Labour in Wales Welsh Government?  My money is on the latter, despite loud and persistent calls for over a number of years for the completion of the long promised permanent rail link from the Ebbw Vale into Newport, nothing has been done. This whiff of inertia and duplicity has Labour in Wales written all over it. The South Wales Argus valiantly took up the gauntlet and actively backed the campaign to restore the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Newport, which would complement the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff. Our local Labour in Wales elected representatives have gone been awfully quiet foe some time, whether they represent us or their party, may be debatable, but their silence is I feel particularly telling. 

WAITING FOR A TRAIN

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

"The train on platform 4 is for Ebbw Vale Parkway, calling at Risca, Rogerstone, Cross Keys…"

The announcement took me by surprise, especially as I was standing on Platform 2 on Newport Station. No they have not gone and done it, trains from Ebbw Vale to Newport and vice versa are not up and running. The only reason why these trains are running via Newport is because of a programme of improvements (running between 1st May and 18th May). 

There have been loud and persistent calls for many years for the completion of the long promised permanent rail link from the Ebbw Vale into the City but no concrete action.  The South Wales Argus took up the gauntlet and actively backed the campaign to restore the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Newport, which complimented the rail link from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff. In the last 18 months things have gone ominously quiet, with the silence from the Labour in Wales Welsh government and our local Labour representatives becoming particularly deafening. 

Now in relation to the completion of the final stage of the Ebbw Vale to Newport line, my advice would be not to hold your breath. I have begun to suspect, and here I hope I am wrong, that there is and has never been any real intention to complete it. The line as is works perfectly well for the proposed Cardiff City region – perhaps it’s time for the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff to come clean and admit it? 

THIS MAKES A PLEASANT CHANGE

There is an old saying along the line of if you stand in the same place long enough then eventually everything will go passed you again. The re-opening of several Gwent police stations by Ian Johnston, the local police and crime commissioner (PCC) , should be welcomed. This bold decision and effectively reverses cuts made  to front desk services at the seven stations (out of 17 stations) that were originally closed to the public back in 2012 (with the loss of 19 jobs). The package of cuts was originally aimed to save around £500,000 as part of £34 million pounds worth of budget savings (by 2015). Gwent Police are reopening Police stations in Caerphilly, Chepstow, Maindee, Monmouth, Pontypool, Risca and Ystrad Mynach. The changes mean that Abertillery police station will now be open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with Brynmawr open Monday to Wednesday from 09:00 to 17:00, it is worth noting that previously both these Police stations had only been open for a few hours a week. In Monmouthshire,  Monmouth and Chepstow police stations are also now open to the public from 9am to 5pm, five days a week. Initially the station front counters will be staffed by community support officers (CSOs) until Gwent Police recruit station enquiry officers (SEOs). Front counter services are to be reviewed after 12 months and levels of us will also be monitoured. I for one, hope that this bold step works out, and some of our communities can retain their (open) police stations.

TIME TO COME CLEAN?

Driver training on the Gaer spur (Ian Brewer)

I suspect that the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff is hoping that no one will notice, but, it appears to have all gone very quiet in relation to the restoration of the rail link into Newport from the Ebbw Vale line. The final stage of the link which would enable commuters to travel to work in Newport and Bristol without having to drive or catch the train to Cardiff Central would also enable services to be run between Abergavenny and Ebbw vale, potentially adding extra off peak services for passengers.

I have long questioned the decision to build single platform railway stations (save where the track is doubled from Crosskeys to Risca). This decision has and continues to directly impact on the frequency of the rail services that can be run, without double platforms and passing loops at all of the station on the line, we are talking about a relatively reduced up and down rail service.

At some point I have little doubt that we (the tax payers) will have to fork out the cash to build double platforms and passing loops along the length of the Ebbw Vale line if only to upgrade the infrastructure and ensure a far more regular service. I find this basic lack of common sense and even basic foresight quite disturbing, if would have been far more sensible to restore the whole line to double track working from the start.

That said, the new stations at Pye Corner and in Ebbw Vale Town are a gain, but, why not build them with double platforms  - it will save us all time and money later. As I have said before if I was being generous I might suggest that it was a case of Network Rail and the Labour in Wales Government (in Cardiff bay) thinking along the lines of ‘Give them that [limited service], they will be grateful as something is better than nothing.’

Now in relation to the completion of the final stage of the Ebbw Vale to Newport line, I suspect that there is and has never been an real intention to complete it. The line as is works perfectly well for the proposed Cardiff City region – perhaps it’s time for the Labour in Wales Government to come clean and admit it? 

POSITIVE ABOUT POST OFFICES

News that seven post offices across Gwent will share more than £695,000 funding from the National Assembly is to be welcomed. The Post offices in Abercan, Usk, Henllys, Pentwyn, Bulwark (in Chepstow), Risca, and Corporation Road in Newport will all receive a share of the money, which is aims to help develop and expand their business and provide new services to their communities, under the Post Office Diversification Fund. Another 41 post offices across Wales will also benefit from a share of the money in the near future. This is a positive small step which will help to undo some of the damage inflicted by the previous New Labour and Conservative administrations in past years.

It is worth remembering that between October 2007 and January 2009 around 2,500 Post Offices were closed across the UK, of which 216 Post Offices were closed here in Wales – mostly but not exclusively in rural areas. There were 971 Post Offices (2008 / 2009) in Wales; Post Offices were closed at a faster rate here in Wales than in other areas of the UK, with a 13% reduction in Post Offices in Wales in 2009, which compared to 12.3% in England, 9.75% in Scotland and only 7.61% in Northern Ireland. During the New Labour years some 4,000 Post offices were closed, some 3,000 Post offices were closed by the previous Conservative administration.

Most people and most political parties recognise that Post Offices play a vital roll at the heart of their communities and are real lifelines to vulnerable people. The Post Office Diversification Fund is planned to run for three years and has been set up to offer help and advice with advertising, marketing, business advice, training and setting up new services for customers. The fund can also help with improving access, security and upgrading computer equipment, etc. This is the result of a Plaid driven One Wales Government helping to deliver improvements to important services in our communities, which makes a pleasant change by way of comparison with recent Westminster Governments.