Concern at prospect of inter-city and freight services sharing tracks
A COMMISSION created to explore alternatives to building a £1.5 billion new motorway around Newport has suggested building six new stations on the South Wales main line and putting inter-city and freight trains on the same pair of tracks.
The South East Wales Transport Commission, chaired by Lord Burns, recommends capital investment of £600 million to £800 million over 10 years to create a ‘network of alternatives’ to the private car. The recommended package, if implemented in full, would place the homes of more than 90% of people in Cardiff and Newport within one mile of a railway station or rapid bus corridor, and double the number of Newport residents within a mile of a railway station.
New stations on the main line are proposed at: Newport Road, Cardiff Parkway and Newport West, all between Cardiff Central and Newport; and at Newport East, Llanwern and Magor, all between Newport and Severn Tunnel Junction. Newport’s existing station could be renamed Newport Central.
The commission believes a service of four trains per hour for the new stations is feasible, by making better use of the four-track main line. It recommends a linespee…