Ebbw Vale Town - improvements

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the South Wales Argus

TRANSPORT for Wales has spoken of its “exciting plans” to almost double the number of services on the Ebbw Vale line.

New services will start running between Newport and Ebbw Vale Town during the next timetable period, which runs from December 10, 2023, to June 1, 2024.

Some 50 new trains have joined the fleet with more than 100 set to be introduced on the mainline and Metro networks over the next two years.

With more trains available, a full hourly service between Cardiff and Cheltenham Spa will start next year.

Ebbw Vale has a population very similar to that of Melksham.  Just sayin.

[grahame]

From Nation Cymru

Transport for Wales has confirmed it will delay the introduction of increased services on a south Wales line due to a shortage of trains after a number suffered wheel damage.

The rail operator had previously planned to launch direct services between Ebbw Vale and Newport from this week with two trains per hour – one to Cardiff and one to Newport.

[IndustryInsider]

A shame there's a slight delay.

With Park Junction Signal Box closed and control moved to the Wales Route Operating Centre in Cardiff you can now see trains moving along the line on the various mapping sites.

Traksy:  https://traksy.uk/live/M+NaN+/M+34+EBWVPWY+2

Railcam (with subscription):  https://railcam.uk/diagrams/x_anydiag.php?di=Newport

OpenTrainTimes yet to be updated, and a message has been put up apologising for the lack of recent updates and the fact they are now playing catch-up, so I don't know how long it will be.  SignalMaps doesn't yet cover that area.

[IndustryInsider]

A shame there's a slight delay.

OpenTrainTimes yet to be updated, and a message has been put up apologising for the lack of recent updates and the fact they are now playing catch-up, so I don't know how long it will be.  SignalMaps doesn't yet cover that area.

The improved service was launched today.

A dozen or so additional services to/from Newport between the hourly Cardiff services until early evening, forming 30-minute interval of departures from Ebbw Vale, after which some of the Cardiff services are routed via Newport.

opentraintimes has indeed caught up with the new signalling and you can see the details here:  https://www.opentraintimes.com/maps/signalling/bristolparkway#T_NWPTRTG

[grahame]

... departures from Ebbw Vale, after which some of the Cardiff services are routed via Newport.

Looks good and makes sense 

http://www.railrover.org/pages/explore-cardiff-and-valleys.html
* Is an explore Cardiff and the Valleys ticket be valid on these trains via Newport?
* Is it valid for leaving an Ebbw Vale to Cardiff train at Newport?

Might sound like a pointless question ... except I might want to - FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent Rover) from Melksham, to Barry (to buy the Gavin and Stacey souvenirs we forgot last time), to Maesteg (not been there - we were late and got turned at Tondu last time) and then to Ebbw Vale to see the works in the early evening before heading home.

[grahame]

... departures from Ebbw Vale, after which some of the Cardiff services are routed via Newport.

Looks good and makes sense 

http://www.railrover.org/pages/explore-cardiff-and-valleys.html
* Is an explore Cardiff and the Valleys ticket be valid on these trains via Newport?
* Is it valid for leaving an Ebbw Vale to Cardiff train at Newport?

Might sound like a pointless question ... except I might want to - FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent Rover) from Melksham, to Barry (to buy the Gavin and Stacey souvenirs we forgot last time), to Maesteg (not been there - we were late and got turned at Tondu last time) and then to Ebbw Vale to see the works in the early evening before heading home.

Best way to find an answer is to ask ... I asked TfW on WhatsApp ...

"The Cardiff and Valleys Day Ranger would not be valid for you to pass through or end your journey at Newport. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience. ^Gwen" and she went away and checked that with a colleague and came back to confirm.

So:
19:02 ex Cardiff - last valid train to Ebbw Vale; not valid on the three later trains that reverse at Newport except between Pye Corner and Ebbw Vale

18:05 ex Ebbw Vale - last train to Cardiff; not valid between Pye Corner and Cardiff on the seven later trains that reverse at Newport.

Is there an irony in the answer about "not passing through Newport"?  As I understand it, the curve from Ebbw Junction to Park Junction IS in Newport - or do I have that wrong?

[JayMac]

The day ranger should have the same route validity as the corresponding walk up tickets within the area of validity.

In practice I suspect you'd have no problem taking a service via Newport using the day ranger when there is no alternative journey. A word with the guard before boarding should allow travel. It'd be a very hard hearted guard who'd either strand you in Ebbw Vale or demand another fare.

[anthony215]

The day ranger should have the same route validity as the corresponding walk up tickets within the area of validity.

In practice I suspect you'd have no problem taking a service via Newport using the day ranger when there is no alternative journey. A word with the guard before boarding should allow travel. It'd be a very hard hearted guard who'd either strand you in Ebbw Vale or demand another fare.

I've asked  a tfw guard i know and as long as you board the train.before Newport your day rover will be valid. Its the case as there's been times when trains have been diverted to Newport  when.theres engineering work going on.

They are going to add Newport to the valleyines day rover but it won't be done until the metro is up and running  and it will only be valid on tfw services.

Theres a campaign in the Ebbw Valley against stopping the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff trains at Cardiff parkway due to the increased journey times.  There is a bit of slack in.the timetable between Cardiff abd Pye corner so could possibly be enough time to add a stop .

[grahame]

I've asked  a tfw guard i know and as long as you board the train.before Newport your day rover will be valid.

Thank you.  That is the opposite of what the WhatsApp customer enquiry clerk told me, and (further) she went away and checked with a colleague.  But in practise I suspect you'll be ok if on a Cardiff <-> Ebbw Vale train that makes an intermediate call at Newport Station.

[JayMac]

Pragmatism on the ground, as I suspected.

I also asked via social media and got the same response from Gwen. Last train from Ebbw Vale you can catch when holding the day ranger is 1936 she told me. Her reply regarding this operational convenience ahead of customer service was:

"The team have gotten back to let me know that the Cardiff & Valleys ranger ticket is a product that was specifically designed for stations within the Valleys and Cardiff area, and Newport was not in the scope to be included as it is outside of the geographical boundary. Transport for Wales have no plans to add Newport to the list of stations under this ticket. If you would like to travel on a service that goes via Newport you would need to purchase a valid ticket, a standard single ticket price from Ebbw Vale Town to Cardiff via Newport would be £5.20 ^Gwen"

So customer services in liaison with the fares team say there are no future plans to include Newport in the day ranger area of validity. They may argue they're worried that folk will use GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services between Newport and Cardiff but that can be prevented with T&Cs just as they currently do with the day ranger on journeys between Bridgend and Cardiff. I guess time will tell as to whether they do include Newport in the future.

[Mark A]

A report from Twitter that the Newport service and improved frequency got off to a very sharp start, with the first train full and standing.

Mark

[IndustryInsider]

A few delays today. Interesting watching how quickly the line recovers.  There’s no layover time at the Ebbw Vale end, but plenty at Newport and the longer passing loop than on, say the Borders Line, means recovery isn’t quite as prolonged.

[grahame]

From Wales Online

The Welsh Government has invested £160m upgrading a south Wales railway which is an investment responsibility of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Government. Since 2008 it has spent what is a huge sum improving the Ebbw Vale Line, where new trains has just been pressed into service.

While the rail line is a responsibility of the UK Government, it failed to prioritise the line for improvement across numerous Network Rail five year rail capital spending periods. The lack of investment in the Welsh rail network - where only the core Valley Lines is devolved - is highlighted by the fact that it receives less than 2% in rail enhancement project spending, despite having around 10% of the total UK rail network.