This week in Cardiff, leaders from politics, business, industry, and academia gathered to unveil a new initiative aimed at leveraging fresh funding to connect an additional 248,000 people to new local train stations across South Wales and Western England.
The Western Gateway Rail Deal, crafted in collaboration with local authorities, businesses, Transport for Wales, and Great Western Railway, among others, outlines a detailed plan for targeted investment. This plan aims to establish new train stations and reduce travel times by half for the 5 million residents of South Wales and Western England.
The Rail Deal highlights key priority projects for investment in the region, which, if implemented, could generate £17 billion in economic benefits for the UK. The plan includes constructing new stations, adding new tracks, and enhancing the capacity of certain rail lines to provide faster and more frequent services.
Representatives from Network Rail, Great Western Railway, Transport for Wales, and the Railway Industry Association discussed their ongoing contributions to the Partnership's goals. The Rail Deal proposes up to 30 new stations in the area through its first two stages, including six new 'Burns' stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction. These stages also feature new Cardiff to Bristol/Cheltenham services, which were subject to consultation throughout 2024, and the proposed privately funded Cardiff Parkway station to serve the Hendre Lakes development.
The Western Gateway, a Pan-Regional Partnership for South Wales and Western England, unites 28 local authorities with businesses and universities to unlock potential and drive economic growth. Research from the partnership indicates that the region could become the fastest-growing economy outside London by 2030, provided cross-border collaboration continues to improve.
Sarah Williams-Gardener, Chair of the Western Gateway Partnership, said: “The Western Gateway area is poised to be the fastest-growing region outside of London, yet it has not had the critical investment in public transport infrastructure that other areas of the country have seen, particularly in rail. This Rail Deal is deliverable and proportionate to the extraordinary offer that our economy presents to the UK.
“We recognise that we need to have clear strategic priorities to make sure we are ready to deliver the change we need at pace. This deal shows we are serious and is a demonstration of collective will from across our local leaders, MPs, our transport bodies and the industry that is ready to deliver our area’s ambitions.”
Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council and Vice-Chair of the Western Gateway said: “We welcomed the acknowledgement from Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander MP on 16 January that Wales rail has been under-funded for years. We can clearly demonstrate through this Rail Deal that we have a shared vision and ambition to deliver for our communities to remedy this situation right away with only a relatively modest ask for investment.
“The Western Gateway has been crucial for unifying our area to gain the support we need to present this deliverable plan for our area’s rail services. I’d like to thank our board of 28 local authority leaders for getting behind this plan and ask UK Government to work with us to make sure we can deliver on the scale we need.”
Dan Okey, Head of Regional and Welsh Development at Great Western Railway said: ‘We have worked closely with the Western Gateway and their Transport Body partners for several years and we welcome the collective ambition for investment. We know that rail connectivity plays a vital role in supporting our communities and the plans for sustainable economic growth. At GWR we believe in looking to the future of our services, our trains and our network to make the railway more inclusive, more accessible and a more attractive proposition for customers. That is the ultimate ambition presented in this Rail Deal and we look forward to working with our partners at Western Gateway, Network Rail and across the industry to make it a reality’.
David McCallum Strategic Development Programme Manager and Rail Lead at Transport for Wales said: ‘This Rail Deal is consistent with the ongoing work of the Wales Rail Board and its investment priorities and demonstrates the economic value of cross-border travel, for access to jobs, education and leisure opportunities. Investment in the South Wales Relief Lines for example will unlock the development of the Burns Stations and increased services and connectivity to communities in South East Wales, North Bristol and Gloucestershire; whilst the electrification of mainline services to Swansea will help Wales meet its net zero goals, with increased frequency, reliability and speed of services to support mode shift to public transport and open new opportunities for our communities’.
Image credit: iStock
Video credit: Western Gateway
