UK Government to fund design and development of railway schemes in Wales

The UK Government is to invest £5.8 million in improving Cardiff Central station.

Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, has announced a multi-million package of funding for upgrades to Wales’ railways.

Schemes to be funded include kickstarting the design of the Cardiff Central station upgrade, advancing plans for cutting-edge digital signalling on the Cambrian line and speeding up journeys between Cardiff and Swansea.

Work on a new, modern design for Cardiff Central station will be funded through the release of £5.8 million. It will focus on improving access and ensuring platforms are suited for longer trains, boosting space and capacity for passengers.

In addition, £3 million will be released to advance plans for upgraded signalling on the 241-kilometre (150-mile) Cambrian line, from Shrewsbury Sutton Bridge Junction to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The planned state-of-the-art digital signalling system will modernise the network, improving the reliability of services, and support the introduction of a new fleet being rolled out across the network in December 2022.

The Cambrian line will receive £3 million to advance planning for a new signalling system.

In addition, almost £2 million has been made available for the next phase of development work on proposals to speed up journeys between Cardiff and Swansea, Chester and Llandudno Junction, and the Severn Tunnel and Cardiff, through better-aligned tracks and exploring putting additional services on the lines.

The announcement of these new projects follows major reforms to the network over the past months such as completion of a fully electric route between Cardiff and London and the devolution of powers over the Core Valley line to the Welsh government.

The Transport Secretary said: “The host of improvements we are delivering across Wales, from huge infrastructure upgrades to creating new and modern stations, are vital to deliver better, quicker and more convenient journeys for passengers within, into and out of Wales.

“We want to transform travel for passengers and, as we build back better from COVID-19, we will ensure our investment helps to level up all parts of the UK.

“By upgrading, improving, and – crucially –modernising our railways, we will make good on our promise to deliver the reliable journeys passengers deserve.”

James Price, chief executive officer of Transport for Wales, added: “At Transport for Wales, we are continuing with our investment programme and, in the last financial year, we spent £796 million transforming our rail services. This included £516 million acquiring the Core Valleys Lines, £187 million on the Wales and Borders rail service and an additional £28 million on projects and service operation.

“At the start of the year, we opened our Metro Infrastructure Hub in Treforest and construction has begun on our £100 million Metro Control Centre in Taff’s Well as we continue to deliver the South Wales Metro that will bring social, economic, recreational and cultural benefits to the people of Wales.

“We welcome any further funding as we move forward with our transformational plans.”