Transport for Wales (TfW) is making headway with its transformational plans for the South Wales Metro, with major work to be undertaken in the Cynon Valley in late summer.
The renovation is worth three-quarters of a billion pounds and has been part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government as part of the Wales Metro project.
The investment is set to boost connectivity and provide jobs, leisure, and other opportunities for the public in Wales, by combining rail, bus, and active travel routes.
To allow heavy engineering work to take place, the railway line between Aberdare and Pontypridd will be closed between Saturday 28th August and Sunday 12th September, as part of preparations for the launch of brand-new electric tram-trains.
The aim is to deliver faster and more regular services, thus improving punctuality, between Cardiff and the heads of the valleys, including Aberdare.
The 16-day closure will enable engineers to undertake complex work, which includes: repositioning signals, devegetation, installing and testing new equipment, realigning the track, and installing the foundations for overhead line equipment.
Due to the magnitude of the preparation which must be achieved throughout the 16 days that services aren’t running, it means work will be required around the clock, 7 days a week.
Journey times between Aberdare and Cardiff city centre are set to be reduced, once the overhead lines have been installed, which will power the new tram-trains. It will also allow TfW to increase the number of services to four every hour.
TfW’s Rail Infrastructure Director, Karl Gilmore, said “we have a significant amount of work to carry out to create the South Wales Metro.”
He continued, “this includes the biggest upgrade to the ageing Core Valley Lines infrastructure to this scale since it was first built, so that we can deliver the faster, more frequent, and greener services the people of the South Wales valleys deserve.”
The Director added, “while work is taking place, we’ll do everything we can to work responsibly by ensuring our sites are well managed and our people are considerate to our neighbours.”
