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Network Rail publishes 10 year Wales enhancement plan

Extra platforms at Cardiff and a 33% increase in capacity for Valley line trains are among the enhancements put forward in Network Rail's route utilisation strategy for Wales.

Published this week following a 12-week consultation on draft proposals, the RUS outlines a plan to strengthen rail links throughout Wales while improving reliability and reducing journey times. It also analyses population, employment and housing forecasts and predicts that rail usage could increase by 31% by 2019.

The main proposals include boosting links between north and south Wales, mid-Wales and the East Midlands and significantly increasing the number of train services that can run through Cardiff and south east Wales. The strategy covers more than 900 route miles of railway in Wales and parts of the border region in England. Approximately 15% of these route miles are heavily used, with around half located within 30 miles of Cardiff.

Proposed enhancements in south Wales include line speed increases on the relief lines between Newport and the Severn Tunnel junction; doubling the frequency of passenger services between Cardiff and Maesteg by carrying out enhancement work at Cardiff Central, as well as the construction of a passing loop near Tondu on the Maesteg branch; and upgrading the central route through Cardiff to increase the number of services from 12 trains per hour to 16 to address long term capacity issues.

Four new through platforms at Cardiff Queen Street station could be built along with an additional Valleys line platform at Cardiff Central, as well as enabling four platforms instead of the two currently used by Valley line services, with the introduction of bi-directional signalling.