The Anonymous Widower

Merthyr Tydfil Station – 28th November 2023

Yesterday, I went to South Wales to look at the progress of the South Wales Metro.

I took these pictures at the station and in the town.

Note.

1. It is only a single-platform station.
2. The platform and track appear to be reasonably flat.
3. Several bay terminal platforms in the UK like four of those at Dalston Junction and Highbury & Islington stations near me are able to handle four trains per hour (tph).
4. The Class 150/2 trains in the are 19.74 metres long and have a maximum capacity of 149.
5. The new electric Class 398 tram-trains are 40.07 metres long and have a capacity of 252.

The platform appears to be long enough for the new trains.

These are my thoughts.

Capacity To And From Merthyr Tydfil

Consider.

• Currently, there are two Class 150/2 tph.
• This means current capacity is 298 passengers per hour.
• After electrification, there will be four Class 398 tph.
• This means future capacity is 1008 passengers per hour.

That is an increase of 238 % in the capacity.

Where Is The Electrification?

This OpenRailwayMap shows the proposed electrification at Merthyr Tydfil station.

Note.

1. Electrified lines are shown in red.
2. Unelectrified lines are shown in black.
3. The railway is single-track until past Troed-y-Rhiw, after which it is double track to Merthyr Vale station.
4. Between Merthyr Vale and Abercynon is single-track, with a short length of unelectrified double-track at Quaker’s Yard station.

It appears that the section of the Merthyr Line at Merthyr Tydfil station will not be electrified.

• The tram-trains’ batteries must be large enough to climb the unelectrified section .
• There must also be enough power to nudge the tram-train back down the hill, after the climb has been completed.
• At least the pictures show, that the track in Merthyr Tydfil station, is reasonably flat.

It looks to be a neat piece of cost-saving design.

Why Did I Feel Better In Merthyr Tydfil?

I have been feeling under the weather lately, but I felt a lot better in Merthyr!

Was it the altitude of 180 metres?

My cardiologist friend, says most people feel worse at altitude. But I seem to be the other way round.

My wife was certainly feeling rough, when I drove a car up to 13,000 feet in the Andes of Ecuador, whereas I was fine.

Incidentally, the car was coughing and wheezing like a good ‘un.

November 29, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Good Design, Merthyr Line, Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil Station, Partial Electrification, South Wales Metro