UK And Welsh Governments To Explore New Rail Links Between South Wales And England
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the UK Government.
These are the three bullet points.
- UK and Welsh governments today (2 February 2023) announce a new study to improve transport connectivity between south-east Wales and west of England
- the study, backed by £2.7 million of UK government funding, will look at options for new railway stations and rail services on the South Wales Main Line
- this project will focus on relieving congestion on the M4, a vital connector between south Wales and the rest of the UK
The stations are not named, but it is said that they could be between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel.
The last paragraph changes direction a bit.
Lord Peter Hendy also proposed reviewing the route connecting north Wales to the north-west of England, better connectivity with HS2 and a package of railway improvements to increase connectivity and reduce journey times between Cardiff, Birmingham and beyond.
I find this development very interesting, but typical of the sensible approach one would expect from Lord Peter.
In Could High Speed Two Serve Holyhead?, I looked at the route and came to this conclusion.
London Euston and Holyhead could be a serious proposition.
With some development and a new fast ferry, it could also open up a practical zero-carbon route between Great Britain and Ireland.
Times of four and a half hours between London Euston and Dublin could be possible.
I suspect that time would appeal to green tourists, especially those in First with a good meal.
The Anonymous Widower 
The Burns Commission back in December 2020 suggested developing six new rail stations at Newport Road, Cardiff Parkway, Newport West, Newport East, Llanwern and Magor. However a number of these proposals were already being taken forward/had the support of the Welsh Government, notably those relating to new stations at Cardiff Parkway and Llanwern. Still why not spend a further couple of million covering the same subject.
Comment by fammorris | February 3, 2023 |
The M4 Link Road was cancelled by Mark Drakeford and the M4 is said to be part of the study.
Comment by AnonW | February 3, 2023 |
Living in Ireland and wanting to see my relatives I have been waiting for this but knowing UK I will not hold my breath.
Comment by Ben | February 3, 2023 |
Because the diesel trains to Holyhead, will be replaced by Hitachi electro-diesels in the next year or so, I suspect there’ll be a speed improvement to Holyhead soon.
Comment by AnonW | February 4, 2023 |