The £100m tram line linking Cardiff city centre with the Bay
The first phase of Cardiff Council’s ambitious long-term Cardiff Crossrail vision will see a new dedicated two-platform tram station incorporated into Cardiff Central.
The first images of a £100m new tram line running from Cardiff Central railway station to Cardiff Bay have been released. The artist impressions, from Cardiff-based architectural firm The Urbanists, coincide with the launch of a public consultation exercise for the project.
The first phase of Cardiff Council’s ambitious long-term Cardiff Crossrail vision will see a new dedicated two-platform tram station incorporated into Cardiff Central on the current surface car park on its south side. The route would then run through the Callaghan Square office scheme area before joining the existing rail line linking Cardiff Bay to Queen Street Station that runs along Bute Street.
Work on a second platform at Cardiff Bay station at the end of Bute Street is now under way as part of the South Wales Metro rail electrification project. The existing Bay line is also being electrified and upgraded to two tracks. To accommodate Crossrail services a dedicated third platform will be added.
The initial plan for phase one of Crossrail was for the tram route, which will use the same tram-train rolling stock being introduced on the Metro for valley services, to extend further into the Bay to a new station at Pierhead Street. While a final budget for the first phase project has yet to be finalised, it is hoped it will not exceed the £100m identified. Extending it to Pierhead Street could cost around £40m. That is now being seen as a next phase Cardiff Crossrail project, subject to securing the necessary funding requirement.
The long-term aim for this element of Crossrail is for it to eventually extend westwards to meet the South Wales Mainline and the proposed Cardiff Parkway station and integrated business park at St Mellons – for which the Welsh Government is still dragging its feet on a planning decision.
A significant part of the cost of the new link from the city centre to the Bay will be highways related to bring the on-street section through Callaghan Square, which will also see new pedestrian and cycle routes and public realm. However, Cardiff Council could move on to enabling work later this year or early next, while the Welsh Government brings forward the necessary rail legislation for the project, via a transport works act order.
Also required, although discussions are understood to be moving in the right direction, is an agreement with Network Rail for the proposed two-platform dedicated Crossrail station to be built on its land immediately south of Cardiff Central. Subject to final agreements between Cardiff Council, Network Rail, Welsh Government and its transport body Transport for Wales, the new tram network to Cardiff Bay could become operational in late 2028.
Earlier this year Cardiff Council appointed engineering and environmental professional services consultancy WSP and construction, property and management consultants Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) to provide programme and cost management services for the project.
The £100m was secured via Cardiff Council’s successful bid to the previous UK Government, through the Levelling Up Fund. A condition of the funding, which is based on four equal instalments of £12.5m from the UK Government over four years, is that the Welsh Government matches it with a further £50m of its own. The Cardiff Bay administration now needs to finalise that funding commitment.
While not yet agreed as a project, a station link connecting Crossrail phase one to the City Line in the west would allow direct services to Cardiff Bay from the valleys – without requiring a change at Cardiff Central. That would significantly enhance the new tram route to the Bay, while also alleviating pressure on Queen Street services from increased valley services generated by the Metro.
A separate new west Cardiff junction is also required to increase the number of services able to run on the city and Coryton Lines in the capital and which have the heaviest population densities on the Metro network . At present the Metro project, while signalling a major upgrade in frequency and number of services from the valleys into Cardiff, will see services on the city and Coryton Lines remaining at just two an hour.
Cardiff Council’s public consultation on its first phase of Cardiff Crossrail will run until October 27. Cardiff Council and TfW are looking for feedback on the proposed designs and are seeking suggestions for improvement.
Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for climate change, strategic planning and transport, Dan De’Ath, said: “The Cardiff Crossrail project has been a long-held ambition for a long time and when fully complete will connect some of the most deprived communities in Cardiff to the railway network for the first time. Subject to funding, the Cardiff Crossrail will eventually run from the northwest of the city, all the way to the east of the city connecting with the proposed Parkway railway station.”
“To start this process, the first phase of the scheme must be built between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay. This will finally ensure that Butetown is properly connected to the city centre, through the new tramway, providing further capacity for residents and visitors to access the wide range of attractions that Cardiff has to offer. We want the public to engage in the consultation process, so they can give their feedback on the very first phase of this exciting project.”
Dan Tipper, Transport for Wales’s chief infrastructure officer, said: “Today, in partnership with Cardiff Council, we’ve shared exciting plans for the delivery of a brand-new tramway between Cardiff Central station and Cardiff Bay station. These plans align with work already underway to build a new track on the Cardiff Bay line, which will allow faster and more frequent services using brand-new tram-trains.”
“Our ambition is that the new tramway will contribute towards a more sustainable transport network for Cardiff, encouraging more people to leave their cars at home and instead choose more sustainable ways to travel. We want to hear as many thoughts, opinions and questions on the proposals as possible, which will help to inform key decisions on the scheme. Contributions from our communities will help to shape this project so we can deliver a public tramway that people are proud of.”
A series of drop-in events will give members of the public opportunities to talk to the teams involved and learn more and ask questions about the proposals. Cardiff Council’s Crossrail vision was published in a white paper in 2019 which outlined integrated transport projects across the city with an indicative price tag of up to £2bn.
Source: https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/100m-tram-line-linking-cardiff-29943162
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Source: BusinessLive.co.uk
