Plans to cut railway journeys in the West of England and South Wales have been revealed including the building of 30 new stations. An additional 23 services per hour are also being considered and six stations would also be upgraded.
The Western Gateway Partnership’s Rail Deal hopes to reduce journey times between London and Bristol to just an hour and cut the time to get to Cardiff from Bristol to 30 minutes.
The region is “poised to be the fastest-growing region outside of London,” says Sarah Williams-Gardener, chair of the partnership. The partnership’s leaders gathered in the Welsh capital to unveil the deal. It could cost up to £11 billion with some of that being covered by the central government. Without a significant amount of government funding, this vision would be difficult to get off the ground.
South Wales and Western England “has not had the critical investment in public transport infrastructure that other areas of the country have seen, particularly in rail,” Ms Williams-Gardener said. “This Rail Deal is deliverable and proportionate to the extraordinary offer that our economy presents to the UK.”
Great Western Railway’s Dan Okey says that the firm has “worked with partners for several years,” on the plans, and welcomes 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,” he said.
Improvements to the rail network would help reducing carbon emissions by helping shift freight away from the road, the deal’s report said. As part of plans to reach net zero, the goal is to “address the gaps in electrification that lead to a high proportion of diesel services being run” in the region, according to the report.
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