Wales’ Valley Lines rail network should be electrified by 2020 as part of a £350m investment project.
The centrepiece of the improvement works is the electrification of the Swansea to London line. Network Rail has described it as the biggest investment in Welsh railway infrastructure since the Victorian era.
Mark Langman, Network Rail route managing director for Wales, said: “This is an exciting time for the railway. We are now carrying a record number of people on record numbers of trains at record levels of reliability. We are also operating a more efficient railway, with the level of public subsidy almost halved from its peak in 2006.
“The Wales Route network has a long and proud history, but inherent in its past lie many of the challenges of the future. The plans we have set out will deliver the biggest investment in the Welsh rail network since the Victorian era. Much of our infrastructure still dates from that period and this investment will help bring the network into the 21st century.
“Wales relies on rail and our plans outlined in the Strategic Business Plan will deliver a real improvement to passengers with the potential for quicker and more frequent journeys on a network that is more resilient and reliable. Better links to London and improved commuting opportunities around Wales, including to the new enterprise zones, will also help drive economic growth across the country.
“This is an ambitious plan that will help move the railway in Wales to the next level.”
By December 2018, Network Rail plans to electrify the railway from the Severn Tunnel to Swansea.
Electrification of the line between Swansea and London Paddington will pave the way for new electric trains, which have more seats than the current diesel trains of the same length and are able to accelerate and brake more quickly, speeding up journey times to London.
Electrification of the Valleys network also builds on the current £220m Cardiff area re-signalling project and will allow faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys.
This work to improve services on the Valleys network will also provide the prospect of a ‘metro’-style service for the Cardiff city region. Network Rail has said it has committed to continue working with the Welsh Government and others on developing such a system.
Alongside the re-signalling scheme is a project to boost capacity on the Valleys network with new platforms at Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street, Caerphilly, Barry, Tir-phil and Pontypridd.
I hope the railways electrify the line in such a way that enables the tracks to be extended in the street, so that we and they can better serve out-of-the-way towns that are currently by-passed by the trains. New thinking is needed, not just a copy of England and London, using their old stock.