Skip to main content

Wales reveals scale of metro project

New rail and bus services are expected to reduce rural isolation
By Ben Spencer October 28, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
Wales programme will deliver up to 30% more services to improve connectivity (© 06photo | Dreamstime.com)

The Welsh Government has unveiled new maps illustrating the scale of a metro project, which will include 172km of electrification to improve journey times.

Wales is a country that is park of the UK. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west and the Bristol Channel to the south. 

Deputy minister for climate change Lee Waters unveiled the maps, saying: “Delivering the £1bn Welsh Metro project will be one of the most ambitious and complex programmes we’ve ever undertaken.”

The maps show the programme will deliver up to 30% more services to improve connectivity across Wales, such as new tram-trains offering fast turn-up-and-go services at 45 stations on Valleys Lines by 2024.

Other plans include new and improved rail and bus services and active travel routes to reduce rural isolation, new train stations to provide a viable public transport alternative to the road network and 100% renewable energy powering overhead wires.

“Improving our public transport and active travel network routes is the right and responsible thing to do for the environment – making low carbon transport options more attractive, affordable, and easier to use – enabling people to leave their car at home particularly in the more densely populated parts of Wales linking up with active travel routes to provide door-to-door journeys in an integrated, sustainable transport network,” Waters continues. 

Additionally, the Welsh government has pledged an additional £2 million to expand existing plans for South East and South West Wales metros, to include new bus and rail stations and services as well more active travel routes.

 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cubic completes Sydney Opal Card rollout early
    December 12, 2014
    Cubic Transportation Systems has completed the roll out of Sydney’s Opal contactless smartcard ticketing system across all transport modes and connecting multiple operators and commenced operation and maintenance of the Opal system under the ten-year services agreement that is part of the original contract. The contract to build the new electronic ticketing system (ETS) – later branded as the Opal Card – was awarded to the Cubic-led Pearl consortium in 2010.
  • €10.9m grant kick-starts German AV project
    April 15, 2021
    Government-backed Kelride seeks to integrate autonomous vehicles into public transport
  • Hitachi Rail Europe wins UK first traffic management contract
    July 28, 2015
    Passengers on some of the busiest commuter lines in the UK can look forward to more frequent and more reliable trains following a deal to provide new traffic management technology on the Thameslink route through central London. Network Rail and the Thameslink Programme have signed a contract with Hitachi Rail Europe (HRE) to deliver a step-change in technology through state-of-the-art traffic management technology.
  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a