New stations at Energlyn, Ebbw Vale town centre and now Pye Corner

[whole diary]

[basset44]

Hi All,

Yet more good news in Wales

Sorry not that computer savy so cant get it like a quote

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22252058

New railway station at Energlyn to meet Caerphilly demand


The new station at Energlyn will have step-free access and two platforms

Growing demand for trains in Caerphilly has prompted plans to open a new ^5.2m station north of the town centre.

Building work will start later this year on a station to serve the growing community around Energlyn and Churchill Park.

It will provide direct trains to Cardiff and Rhymney up to twice an hour when it opens at the end of the year.

It is part of wider plans to improve Valley Lines services ahead of the electrification of the network by 2019.

The station - to be built between Aber and Llanbradach - also aims to ease congestion on roads, according to Network Rail.

"This proposal is driven by our plans to transform the railway in Wales and, when delivered, will mark a huge improvement for Energlyn and Churchill Park," said route director Mark Langman.

"Caerphilly county borough has seen a steady increase in passenger demand in recent years and the new station will cater for this growth and encourage sustainable travel, whilst also helping to improve the local economy."

Economy and Transport Minister Edwina Hart added: "Investing in our transport infrastructure is vital as we look to improve the economic competitiveness of Wales."

The new station will have two platforms and step-free access, along with car parking, CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) and real-time train information.

The Welsh European Funding Office has helped to fund the station, which has been developed jointly by the Welsh government, Network Rail, Caerphilly council, South East Wales Transport Authority (Sewta) and Arriva Trains Wales (ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)))).

Edit note:

Sorry not that computer savy so cant get it like a quote

I've helped you out on that one, basset44.  Chris from Nailsea.

[anthony215]

Good to see this station finally being built after all these years.

I wonder how long we have to wait before we see stations at Brackla, Pye Cornner etc being built.

Looks like Energlyn will be served by the services which run to Rhymney and one which terminates at Bargoed currently but will be extended to Rhymney once the passing loop at Tirphil is completed and ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) have enough rolling stock.

[John R]

Excellent news today to see the Welsh Government committing funds towards the northwards extension of the Ebbw Valley Railway to a new station in Ebbw Vale town centre.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed, excellent news - so I've taken the opportunity to expand this topic's heading, to reflect more precisely what is to happen. 

[anthony215]

About time the Ebbw Vale line is being extended, I do hope they extend the double track section from Crosskeys at the same time.

[Red Squirrel]

Be good to see some progress on the Ebbw Vale - Newport service too...

[John R]

Nothing mentioned on either of those points, and you can be sure that if they were planned they would have been part of the announcement.

It also seems a bit of an economy that trains leaving and joining the main line at Ebbw Junction have to slow to 15 mph. A less restrictive turn out (the space is there) could easily save a couple of minutes on the journey.

 

[Plymboi]

Good to see this station finally being built after all these years.

I wonder how long we have to wait before we see stations at Brackla, Pye Cornner etc being built.

Looks like Energlyn will be served by the services which run to Rhymney and one which terminates at Bargoed currently but will be extended to Rhymney once the passing loop at Tirphil is completed and ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) have enough rolling stock.

Pye corner is set to get funding from network rails new station fund.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Be good to see some progress on the Ebbw Vale - Newport service too...

In the days when I used to live near this line (Risca) and work near Pye Corner (British Alcan in Rogerstone) I often hoped that one day passenger services would return.

I also remember,back in the 80's, Alcan were trying to reduce their dependancy on road transport for their ingots are were discussing linking the site to the rail network which ran very close by. From memory this was a different spur of the line that is being talked about here though.

[trainer]

The reopening of lines often brings about nostalgia and BB's reminiscences above remind me of very distant memories of seeing a tank engine (don't ask me what sort, I was probably 5 or so) and two maroon coaches pull away from the original Rogerstone station, further south from the current one. The mighty Rogerstone hump yard is now a housing estate, like the power station, and the Alcan works, where many of my family worked, no more giving abundant employment

I still have family in the lower part of that valley and the revived train service has gone down very well, although as others have noted, the Newport connection will make a tremendous difference.  The connecting buses at Rogerstone were badly routed and failed miserably.

At Ebbw Vale Parkway, there is no dedicated bus connection and as far as I can see there is still going to be an uphill hike to the town centre from the proposed Town station.  Nevertheless, after fifty years of watching the line to my birth-place decline I am thrilled to see once again a thriving vital artery on an area in need of good economic news.

[Trowres]

I also remember,back in the 80's, Alcan were trying to reduce their dependancy on road transport for their ingots are were discussing linking the site to the rail network which ran very close by. From memory this was a different spur of the line that is being talked about here though.

The Alcan works was once connected into the extensive Rogerstone marshalling yard by a bridge of a number of arches that included a low bridge over what was locally known as the "bottom road" between Newport and Risca.
However, there was evidence (a stone pier) that at one time a bridge spanned the River Ebbw, presumably offering a connection between the old Brecon & Merthyr line and the works. I haven't seen this on any map, though. I believe that the 1980's proposal would have revived this link.

I lived within earshot of the line near Pye Corner (Bassaleg Junction as it was then). The passenger services ceased when I was a wee lad. Echoing Trainer, there was a sad fascination in watching the decline of the line over many years. For a number of years Bassaleg Junction station building survived in use by an electronics company, but the site is now occupied by several houses. The viaduct in Bassaleg (on the line to Machen Quarry) is reputed to be the oldest railway viaduct in regular use - it dates from 1826.

[John R]

The government today announced funding for Pye Corner on the southern stretch of the Ebbw Valley branch, which according to reports should be open by Dec 14.

[anthony215]

ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) have annouced that the new station at Energlyn & Churchil park will open on Sunday 8th December.

I have had a look through the new Valley Lines timetable and had a look at the frequency of services which call at the new statiion. The gaps between trains vary from 15  to 30 and even 45 minutes  and this has caused some variations with services no longer departing Bargoed at 15 minutely intervals.

Hopefully electrification will help sort this timetabling issue in the near future.

Other that I must say it is good to see another station being re-opened now I look forward to the stations at Pye Corner and Ebbw Vale town being re-opened with Brackla I hope being re-opened in the future

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Pye Corner, Newport, railway station plans revealed


The new station would have a single platform and a 62 space car park

Plans for a new railway station near Newport on the line between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale have been revealed.

Newport council and Network Rail say a station at Pye Corner, near Rogerstone, would allow journeys into Cardiff and in the longer term to Newport. It would also offer alternative transport into the city for travellers on already congested routes, they said. But some residents and councillors are worried that the wrong location is being earmarked for the station.

The proposal is part of a project that began in 2008 with the re-opening of the Ebbw Valley line between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff. Businesses in Newport have long called for the line to be extended to the city over fears they were being overlooked by those in the Welsh capital.

A planning application proposes a station with a single platform, although a second could be added later. A 62-space car park would be created along with a new roundabout to provide access to the site on Western Valley Road.

Some residents have raised concerns about the location and time-scale of the project which, if approved, could be completed by the end of the year. They are also worried about noise and light pollution, increased traffic, and say car cruisers and youths could congregate in the car park.

Chris Evans, a Newport councillor for Rogerstone, claimed there had been a lack of consultation on the plans and said the scheme felt "rushed". He said he could see the benefits of the station but called for a delay in approving the application. "We should be working with residents and not against them and let's, at the very least, delay approving this application so that the rights of the elderly and disabled, and the safety of our children, can be properly and positively ensured via sensible discussion," he said.

The Ebbw Valley line is among the south Wales valleys and commuter rail services to be electrified between 2014 and 2019 as part of a ^350m investment.

The Pye Corner scheme was awarded a ^2.5m grant from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government in September 2013 and the Welsh government is adding ^1m.

The application is recommended for approval. It will be discussed by Newport council's planning committee on 5 February.

[paul7575]

I just don't get this story. 

The whole point of the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s 'new stations' fund that is paying the majority of this, as announced last May, was that the proposals had to be for 'shovel ready' schemes, which were able to be commenced in a short period of time.

The successful bids were for Pye Corner, Lea Bridge (London), Newcourt (Devon), Ilkeston (Derbys) and more tentatively Kenilworth,

The idea that there should now be yet more consultation about location doesn't fit in with the original application guidelines at all...

Paul