Taff’s Well Station – 22nd November 2023
I took these pictures as I passed through.
Note.
- A depot for the tram-trains is being built.
- The depot looks rather small.
- Four Class 398 tram-trains are lined up in the sidings of the depot.
- The last picture was taken four years ago , before any work started.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the depot.
Note.
- Electrified tracks are shown in red.
- Unelectrified tracks are shown in black.
- There are nine electrified sidings, which from my picture appear to be able to hold two tram-trains each.
- From other pictures on the web four of the unelectrified lines are covered tracks in the depot.
- The final two tracks seem to allow tram-trains to enter and leave the depot and these tracks are partially covered, there could be a washer alongside the building.
- The unelectrified Merthyr Line runs across the South-West corner of the map.
- Tram-trains will always enter the depot from the North.
- Tram-trains will always leave the depot to the North.
It is a slightly unusual layout for a depot, but it seems to fit well into a small site.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Merthyr Line as it passes Taff’s Well Station and Depot.
Note.
- The Merthyr Line runs roughly North-West and South-East across the map.
- The Northern and Southern sections of the Merthyr Line are electrified, but the central section is not.
- Taff’s Well Depot is the red and black wart on the unelectrified section of the Merthyr Line.
- Tram-trains going North go to Pontypridd and then on to the three branch terminals at Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil.
- Tram-trains going South go to Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations.
Tram-trains use a mixture of overhead electrisation, battery power and assistance from Newton’s friend for power.
How A Tram-Train Arrives At Taff’s Well Depot
Consider.
- Tram-trains must approach Taff’s Well Depot from the North to enter the depot.
- This shouldn’t be a problem, as there appear to be crossovers at Pontypridd to transfer a tram-train to the right line if needed.
- As they descend from Pontypridd, any braking can be used to charge the batteries on the tram-trains.
- The track layout in the depot appears to allow any entering train to go into any track in the depot.
So depending on the work needed before the next trip, the tram-train can be efficiently placed in the right section.
How A Tram-Train Leaves Taff’s Well Depot
Consider.
- Tram-trains must leave Taff’s Well Depot to the North.
- As the Merthyr Line is not electrified, where the tram-trains leave the depot, they need to leave with enough power in the battery to reach the electrified section of the Merthyr Line.
- Tram-trains can only be charged in the nine electrified sidings.
So do the tram-trains, wait in the electrified sidings until, they have enough power in the batteries to do a circuit of the depot, join the Merthyr Line and go up the hill to the electrification?
If as I suspect, there is a tram-wash behind the depot, they can even take a pass through, so they enter service after a wash.
Conclusion
This could be a very efficient depot.
Is Taff’s Well Station Planned To Go Step-Free?
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Taff’s Well station is not on the list.
These pictures show the station and the current bridge,
Crossing the tracks on the current bridge, is no easier, than at Cathays and Treforest stations, both of which are going step-free.
This map is a schemastic of the South Wales Metro.
Twelve trains per hour (tph) will go through the station, when the South Wales Metro is fully developed.
Passenger numbers for 2017/2017 South between Pontypridd and Cathays are as follows.
- Pontypridd – 864,000 – Step-free
- Treforest – 752,000 – Going step-free by 2024
- Treforest Estate – 84,000
- Taff’s Well – 364,000
- Radyr – 539,000 – Step-free
- Llandaff – 483,000 – Step-free
- Cathays – 946,000 – Going step-free by 2024
Taff’s Well is the second least-used station.
But a doubling of the train frequency in the next few years, will certainly increase passenger numbers.
One guy, I spoke to said, that the station wasn’t busy.
I have been sent a map of the proposed works and facilities for the South Wales Metro. This snippet shows Taff’s Well station.
Note.
- There’s a lot of work to be done in the area.
- Taff’s Well station is shown with a PRM-compliant bridge and step-free access from street to train. The current bridge is not PRM-compliant.
- The station is shown electrified.
- Short sections of line around the station are without electrification.
I feel that to meet their objectives, the bridge needs to be replaced.
Installing Step-Free Access
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
I feel that, when Network Rail fully understand their installation procedures and costs, that a bridge like this could be used to replace the current monstrosity.
It also appears that the wires at Taff’s Well station will not be electrified, so could a bridge be used to hold up the overhead wires, that will guide pantographs through the station?
This Google Map shows Taff’s Well station.
The station has the common problem, of those that use the station as a Park-and-Ride have to negotiate the bridge one way.
Does the possibility of coming back from Cardiff, with lots of shopping, encourage shoppers to drive down the valley?
Taff’s Well station illustrates one of the benefits of the winning bridge design.
It could be built at the Northern end of the station, without disrupting the existing trains or their passengers.
I feel that Taff’s Well station would be ideal for one of the new bridges, even if it is not installed for a few years.
Electrification Through Taff’s Well Station
It is planned that electrification will be continuous through the station., which probably means that a new bridge with all the right clearances is desireable.
South of the station, there are a series of modern road bridges, which should have been built to give sufficient clearance for the 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
North of the station, there are two modern footbridges.
This is the one nearest the station.
And this is the more Northerly bridge.
It appears that discontinuous electrification will be used on both bridges to make sure all safety clearances are met.
In an ideal world, the second bridge should surely have lifts!
Conclusion
Obviously, as the plans develop, we’ll know more about what will happen at Taff’s Well station.
Train Depot In Taffs Well, While Newport Factory Named As Preferred Bidder For New Diesel Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Walesonline.
The interesting part is the holistic thinking, where a new depot is to be built at Taff’s Well, where the station is also to be modernised, with the addition of a Park-and-Ride.
Taff’s Well station is a very outdated affair, as these pictures show.
Note.
- The station could certainly do with a new step-free bridge.
- The train frequency is also being raised from six to twelve trains per hour (tph)
- Six tph will go to The Flourish.
- There will also be a new two tph service on the City Line.
- All trains will be new Stadler Citylink Metro Vehicles.
That Park-and-Ride will certainly be needed.
As Taff’s Well station will be at the heart of the tram-train network, it is most certainly a good place for the depot.
The article also says that enhanced stabling facilities will be built at Treherbert and Rhymney stations.
Enhancements At Rhymney
Rhymney station is the terminal of the Rhymney Line.
These are my pictures of the station.
This Google Map gives an aerial view.
In addition to the enhanced stabling, the station will also be upgraded to accommodate more and longer Tri-Mode Stadler Flirts.
There’s certainly a lot of space for the stabling.
Enhancements at Treherbert
Treherbert station is the terminal of the Rhondda Line.
I took these pictures of the station in 2014.
This Google Map shows an gives view.
There certainly would appear to be space for the enhanced stabling.
The Anonymous Widower 