The Core Valley Lines in south Wales are undergoing a transformation. The routes north of Cardiff will soon enjoy a much-improved service – and the operation will be much more sustainable too.
The CVL comprise the lines north from Cardiff Queen Street to Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Treherbert, Coryton and Rhymney, plus freightonly lines to Cwmbargoed and Hirwaun, the Cardiff Bay branch and the City line from just north of Ninian Park station to Radyr. Ownership of the infrastructure transferred from Network Rail in March 2020 and is now in the hands of Amey Infrastructure Wales (AIW), which alongside Transport for Wales is leading the transformation of these routes.
Detailed plans for the upgrade of the CVL, part of the wider South Wales Metro, were the output of the procurement of the new Wales and Borders franchise, which started in 2018. This was different to a standard franchise, with TfW seeking an Operator and Development Partner to both run services and deliver infrastructure works on the CVL. Although the operation transferred in-house to a TfW subsidiary earlier this year, AIW remains TfW’s partner on the infrastructure delivery element.
OUTPUT-BASED
Where the procurement differed most was that…
