West Wales Parkway railway station
West Wales Parkway (Welsh: Parcffordd Gorllewin Cymru) is a planned railway station in the northern region of Swansea (Welsh: Abertawe), near to the boundaries of the neighbouring county of Carmarthenshire (Welsh: Sir Gaerfyrddin). The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line (Welsh: Llinell Bwrdeistref Abertawe) to passenger traffic.[2]
West Wales Parkway Parcffordd Gorllewin Cymru  | |
|---|---|
| Location | Felindre, Swansea Wales |
| Owned by | Transport for Wales[1] |
| Managed by | Transport for Wales Rail |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Key dates | |
| July 2019 | Proposed |
Origins
Swansea has long been without high speed rail services due to extensive speed limits on the Swansea Loop and Bridgend to Swansea line, set at 40mph (65 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h) respectively.[3]
A number of experts have debated solutions for rail travel in the area, including Professor Mark Barry of Cardiff University. As part of a project commissioned by the Welsh Government,[4] Barry has argued for either a service via the (currently freight-only) Swansea District Line,[5] or the construction of a new line from Baglan to Swansea via the Swansea Bay coast,[5] with a tram-train extension to The Mumbles [5] mirroring the historic tramway which opened in 1807, the first railway in the world.[5]
In July 2019 the then Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling launched the concept of a West Wales Parkway station, to be constructed on the Swansea District Line near Felindre, at a cost of £20m. They proposed the route would allow for "time savings of up to a quarter of an hour from Pembrokeshire to Cardiff" and improvements in connectivity in the Swansea area.[2]
Barry responded to the proposals positively, but insisted that any services would have to bypass Swansea railway station in order to see journey time improvements. This, he argued, meant the Government would still have to invest a significant amount more in building a "broader proposal for the whole of the Swansea bay" in order to prevent negative consequences for Swansea city centre.[2]
Construction
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future services | ||||
| Llansamlet | Transport for Wales Trafnidiaeth Cyrmu Swansea District line Llinell Bwrdeistref Abertawe |
Llangennech | ||
References
- BBC news, Cardiff Central railway station to get £58m upgrade. 22 July 2019
- "Wales' busiest railway station to get £58m upgrade". BBC News. 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- "House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee: The Provision of Rail Services in Wales" (PDF). House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee. 17 March 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2004.
- "Step forward for Swansea Bay Metro plans". Swansea Bay City Deal. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
- Pyke, Chris (2017-07-25). "The man behind the vision for the south Wales Metro now has a plan for Swansea". walesonline. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
