The South Wales Metro () is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

services and systems network in

South East Wales South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...

around the hub of . The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently underway with a brand new depot under construction at

Taff's Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from Gwa ...

and new trains being constructed at the

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, literally "Construction and Other Railway Services") is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidi ...

(CAF) factory in Newport. This will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations. This will be the biggest overhaul to the railways of South Wales since their construction 170 years ago.

Background

The rail-based transport system in South Wales was degraded due to the 1960s

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

. This saw the closure of some lines and many sub-branches serving the mainly ex-mining communities and their easy links to ports and resorts on the coast. Since 1987, five of the main closures have been reversed: services were reinstated on Cardiff's City Line that year, the Aberdare Line the next year, the

Maesteg Line The Maesteg Line is a commuter rail line in South Wales from Bridgend to Maesteg. Services usually operate from Maesteg to via the South Wales Main Line and Gloucester to Newport Line. Electrification by 2019 was announced in the Departmen ...

in 1992, the

Vale of Glamorgan Line The Vale of Glamorgan Line ( cy, Llinell Bro Morgannwg) is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major. Route The Barry branch starts at Cardiff West and ru ...

between

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

and

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

in 2005, and the Ebbw Vale Line in 2008.

Development

In February 2011, Cardiff Business Partnership (CBP) and the

Institute of Welsh Affairs The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) () is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in public policy and debate around the economy, education, environment and health sectors in Wales. Hist ...

published a report by Professor Mark Barry of

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, calling for an investment of £2.5billion over 10years to connect

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, Newport and the South Wales Valleys. The report concluded that with the stated investment in a regional metro system, by 2025 it would be possible to travel from the Heads of the Valleys to Cardiff or Newport in 40minutes, by combining electrified heavy rail and light rail systems and boosted by faster rail links to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. After the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

, supported by parties including a CBP team led by Mark Barry, lobbied at Westminster for the extension of the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the o ...

electrification programme west to , and north into the South Wales Valleys, Barry developed a more detailed blueprint plan for Cardiff. After internal consultation, this was submitted by CBP to the Welsh Government's Business Minister

Edwina Hart Edwina Hart, MBE (born 26 April 1957) is a Welsh LabourAssem ...

in December 2012. The scheme proposed a £200million investment in a Cardiff cross-rail scheme based on

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s, between St Mellons in the east via Cardiff Central, south into

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay ( cy, Bae Caerdydd; historically Tiger Bay; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it serves as the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of ...

, north to , converting a number of

Valley Lines Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes ( cy, Llwybrau Lleol y Cymoedd a Chaerdydd) (formerly Valley Lines) is the network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glam ...

heavy rail routes to light rail, and a new route north-west via Ely and Radyr Court to the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

near

Creigiau Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,500 houses and a population of approximately 5,000 people. The Cardiff electoral ward is called Creigiau/St. Fagans. The vi ...

. From Autumn 2012, Barry led the private sector Metro Consortium, with the common aim of promoting the South Wales Metro project, which included representatives from

Capita Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...

, Jones Lang LaSalle, The Urbanists and Steer Davies Gleave. They produced a further interim report, "A Cardiff City Region Metro: transform , regenerate , connect" published in February 2013. Hart then commissioned Barry to lead a more detailed analysis of the potential benefits: The ''Metro Impact Study'' of October 2013. This more substantive report concluded that an initial £1billion investment in an integrated metro transport network for South East Wales could, within 30years, add 420,000 people to the network, create 7,000 new jobs and invest an additional £4billion into the regional economy. In October 2013, after Barry had submitted his report to Hart at the end of summer 2013, the Business Minister endorsed the report. She allocated £62million for phase one of the scheme to improve bus and rail links, including rail infrastructure improvements, station upgrades, park and ride schemes, bus corridors, and walking and cycling schemes. She also set up a working group to examine detailed proposals for the potential subsequent stages of the

Cardiff Capital Region The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR; cy, Prifddinas Ranbarth Caerdydd) is a city region in Wales, centred on the capital city of Wales, Cardiff, in the southeast of the country. It is a partnership between the ten local authorities of Blaenau Gwe ...

Metro system.

Implementation

Former First Minister

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

formally launched the South Wales Metro in November 2015, with the Welsh Government setting out its aspirations for the Metro in its November 2015 publication, "Rolling Out Our Metro". Procurement for the Metro began in July 2016, as part of the procurement process for the next

Wales & Borders franchise , image_filename = , image_size = , caption = , nameforarea = service area , regions = Wales, North West England, the West Midlands, and Gloucestershire. , operator = Transport for Wales Rail , dates = 14 ...

. This was managed by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) cons ...

. This concluded in May 2018, with the awarding of the franchise to KeolisAmey Wales, trading as Transport for Wales Rail Services, from 14 October 2018. Details of the £5billion investment was announced in June 2018 to run all of Wales' rail service over 15 years by two European companies jointly. In October 2018, £119million of funding was obtained from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

to support the modernisation plans. In January 2019, a new report had proposed several new schemes such as a rail link to Abertillery. In August 2019, it was announced that work on the project would be delayed, due to "unresolved issues" particularly around maintenance cost estimates, which are preventing sale of the freehold land, buildings, and operational assets, by current owner

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's len ...

to the Welsh Ministers. The deal will require approval from the

Office of Rail & Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting ...

before contractor KeolisAmey Wales can undertake work including electrification and other improvements. The project faces a deadline of 2022 for some work, as the work will need to meet the deadline for the £159million in awarded European Regional Development funding, which will not be available after that date due to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

. It was announced that the first work on the project would start on 3 August 2020, beginning with track improvements on lines to Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Treherbert. These lines will operate as a rail replacement service between 8pm and 5am until December 2020, except on Fridays and Saturdays. The phase two works are scheduled to be completed by 2023. Total cost of South Wales metro part 1 has been cited by the Welsh government as £88.5 million in a brochure on the development. The total cost of South Wales Metro part 2 is estimated to be £738 million that includes "electrification of the CVL; double tracking of selected route sections; a direct connection from the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil lines to Cardiff Bay; and a new train stabling facility at Taff’s Well". In addition, £800 million will be invested in rolling stock, bring the phase two total to £1.538 billion.

New fleet

The trainsets will be manufactured by Stadler and delivered by 2023.

Proposed network

Existing rail network

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...

from west to , and

*: **

: ***Northwest to Coryton ***North to : ****Onwards to ****Onwards to ****Onwards to ****Onwards to **West via

to Maesteg **South via

to: *** *** ***

via

Rhoose Rhoose ( , cy, Y Rhws from "the moor") is a village and community near the sea (the Bristol Channel) in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry. The wider community includes villages and settlements such as Font-y-Gary, Penmark, East Abert ...

and

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major ( cy, Llanilltud Fawr) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Gl ...

**East via Ebbw Vale Line to **North-east via Welsh Marches Line to

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wit ...

Cardiff Queen Street , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Queen St. (19366639218).jpg , caption = Cardiff Queen Street seen from the north. , borough = Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name = ...

: **South via Cardiff Bay branch to

Current proposals

: ** On-street extension to a relocated Cardiff Bay station ** New intermediate station at Loudoun Square * Newport: ** North via Ebbw Vale Line to *

: ** New station at Crwys Road ** New station at

Gabalfa Gabalfa (, ) is a district and community in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is characterised by a four-lane fly over road at the Gabalfa Interchange, where the A48 road meets the A470 road (North Road) which leads from C ...

** Relocated Treforest Estate station *

** New station at Cardiff Parkway ** New station at

Llanwern Llanwern is a community in the eastern part of the City of Newport, South East Wales. Llanwern is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Lliswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city bo ...

Former proposals

These routes were planned to be developed as high-speed bus routes or light rail/tram-based services – however, they are not currently part of the Metro plans: *: **South to: ***

Culverhouse Cross Culverhouse Cross ( cy, Croes Cwrlwys) is a district straddling the boundary between Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the community of Wenvoe. The district is centred on a major traffic roundabout that links West Cardiff to the M4 mo ...

***

Porth Teigr Porth Teigr ( en, Tiger Gate) is an area under development in the docks area of Cardiff Bay, in the south of Cardiff, Wales. Its development began in 2008. The multi-use area will host the BBC drama village, with plans to link this to a new d ...

: **Cross-route east/west from Coryton to

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

Cardiff Gate Cardiff Gate is a business park development, located on the junction 30 of the M4 motorway and the A4232 north east of Cardiff, South Wales. Development In light of the development of farmland into housing at Pontprennau in the east of Cardiff i ...

, and then south to a new station at St Mellons *

Beddau Beddau ( en, Graves cy, Y Beddau) is a large former mining village (and electoral ward) situated within the South Wales Valleys Davies (2008), page 507. around from Llantrisant and from the larger town of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rh ...

: connecting: **North-east to

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

**South-east to Cardiff Central **South-west via Llantrisant,

Miskin Miskin ( cy, Meisgyn) is a village approximately south of Llantrisant in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The origin of the village was a small hamlet (place), hamlet known as New Mill, which grew up around New Mill farm. Miski ...

/ to

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; " Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are ...

, connecting: **North via to

Maerdy Maerdy (, cy, Y Maerdy) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley. History "Maerdy" i ...

: connecting: **North-east via

Ystrad Mynach Ystrad Mynach is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, within the ancient county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is north of the town of Caerphilly. The urban area has a population of 19,204, and stands in the Rhymney Valley. Before the Industr ...

Pontllanfraith Pontllanfraith ( cy, Pontllanfraith ) is a large village and community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated adjacent to the town of Blackwood, with ...

, Newbridge to

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd r ...

: new hub, connecting: **North to

Tredegar Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the In ...

Hirwaun Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a popul ...

: **Cross-valley route via

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney ...

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr c ...

* Newport: **North via Ebbw Vale Line to

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area ...

**West via the former

Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (B&MR) was a railway company in Wales. It was originally intended to link the towns in its name. Finding its access to Merthyr difficult at first, it acquired the Rumney Railway, an old plateway, an ...

to Treharris, via Pye Corner,

Machen Machen (from Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethom ...

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wi ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

References

External links

South Wales Metro webpage
{{Current rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom Railway lines in Wales Tram transport in Wales Bus transport in Wales Transport in Cardiff Transport in Newport, Wales Bridgend Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf