Ebbw Vale train service resumes 46 years on

[whole diary]

[Graz]

The Ebbw vale line has finally opened for passengers.

'The first train left Ebbw Vale at 0640 GMT, with transport minister Ieuan Wyn Jones on board, and arrived early.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7228772.stm

[Lee]

I'm sure i've seen the unit pictured in the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article somewhere before....

[Graz]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) have changed that photo- previously it was of an empty looking Ebbw Vale station!

I would love to take a trip up there sometime.

[Lee]

The people of Tredegar are hoping to benefit from the Ebbw Vale rail link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7183976.stm

[eightf48544]

I would love to take a trip up there sometime.
[/quote]

I've been up there on a railtour and teh scenary after Aberbeeg is superb.

Do you realise that the lower end of this line from Basseleg to Park junction (Cardiff, Newport Docks and Neport Station) was six tracks. It was called the Park Mile and made the landowner the very rich. In selling the land he got the railway comapny to pay him 1d for every ton of coal that passed over the line. Even at 240d to the ^ he made a lot of money! The GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) finally had to buy him off I don't know for how much.

It's also a pity that Crumlin Viaduct on the Pontypool Neath line (another very scenic line) has gone. Ther use to be a High and Low Level staion here literally. The High level being a 200' above the low level. 

It will be intersting if they get the line to Abertillery  as unlike to Ebbw Vale the track has been lifted from Aberbeeg. Who knows they may even get back to Brymawr.

[Jim]

Nice to see a Ex FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 150 there!

[devon_metro]

With Arriva seat covers

[Graz]

I would love to take a trip up there sometime.

I've been up there on a railtour and teh scenary after Aberbeeg is superb.

Do you realise that the lower end of this line from Basseleg to Park junction (Cardiff, Newport Docks and Neport Station) was six tracks. It was called the Park Mile and made the landowner the very rich. In selling the land he got the railway comapny to pay him 1d for every ton of coal that passed over the line. Even at 240d to the ^ he made a lot of money! The GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) finally had to buy him off I don't know for how much.

It's also a pity that Crumlin Viaduct on the Pontypool Neath line (another very scenic line) has gone. Ther use to be a High and Low Level staion here literally. The High level being a 200' above the low level. 

It will be intersting if they get the line to Abertillery  as unlike to Ebbw Vale the track has been lifted from Aberbeeg. Who knows they may even get back to Brymawr.

Hi welcome to the board eightf48544 Just imagine it these days- there'd be no way that could happen! But the landowner saw the oppertunity and took it- but who wouldn't want to sit there watching money roll in!

It is a shame about these lines closing, the viaduct in particular. Although with the rise of public transport we'll hopefully see the reopening of many other lines, this is epecially looking the case in south Wales.

[Lee]

A protest about how long it will take to set up a working rail link between Rogerstone and Newport is planned (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7239470.stm

Politicians and city leaders are angry the ^30m train link between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff calls at Rogerstone but not at Newport Central.

Newport West MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Paul Flynn and AM Rosemary Butler want the passenger services to start as soon as possible.

But the assembly government said the line needed a signalling upgrade which was not possible until 2009.

The link goes through Rogerstone but passengers heading for Newport have to transfer to a shuttle bus. 

On Tuesday, Ms Butler, Mr Flynn and three Newport councillors will go to Rogerstone station where they plan to hold up enlarged images of return tickets from Rogerstone to Newport with the valid date left blank.

They say it is a protest about the time it is going to take to carry out engineering work on the line between the two stations.

I wonder where they got that idea from....

[John R]

Yes, I thought that, but there weren't as many witty comments on their ticket as on the MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) version. It does seem odd that the service runs to Cardiff, and even when they resignal the connection, there isn't the capacity on the line without further work if a half hourly service is to run. I guess ideal if hourly is into Newport, reverse and onto Cardiff.

Still, at least they have 18 miles of new railway. What would the good citizens of Portishead give for 3 miles. And on Saturday at Central they had added another large banner for the post match queues, London, Bristol, Swansea, Ebbw Vale. I wouldn't have nevisaged that a few years ago.

[signalandtelegraph]

But the assembly government said the line needed a signalling upgrade which was not possible until 2009.

It would be relatively simple to alter the existing signalling for passenger operation but given that the entire area is due to be resignalled in the next couple of years then no one wants to stump up the cash. 

[Lee]

A bus link helping commuters use the new ^30m railway line from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff has been abandoned (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7427491.stm

The Welsh Assembly Government said a shortage of passengers meant it ended the service from Rogerstone to Newport.

But one, Val Ashdown, from Ebbw Vale, said it meant she would go back to using her car to get to work.

Labour AM Rosemary Butler said the bus could not go on being subsidised, but she will press for a quicker start to a rail link from Rogerstone to Newport.

Mrs Ashdown, 60, had been using the train and bus link for six weeks to reach work at the defence company EADS on the Celtic Springs business park.

But when she boarded the bus to go home on Saturday she was told the service would end after this weekend. 

The journey took 50 minutes and at ^2.95 a day, using monthly and weekly train ticket offers, meant it was cheaper than using her car, which uses ^35 a week in petrol to make the same journey.

An assembly government spokeswoman said it had agreed to help fund the bus link between Rogerstone and Newport as an interim measure until a rail link into the city opens in 2010-11.

She said it agreed to provide a subsidy of ^230,000 for 2008-09 to Newport Council on condition that passenger numbers were monitored to ensure it provided value for money.

There are a number of frequent privately-operated bus services through Rogerstone, the spokeswoman said.

[grahame]

A bus link helping commuters use the new ^30m railway line from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff has been abandoned (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7427491.stm

The Welsh Assembly Government said a shortage of passengers meant it ended the service from Rogerstone to Newport.

Sadly, the majority of people will not use a bus in place of a train over a journey of more than a handful of miles.   There are many instances of rail replacement bus services that have quickly floundered - I was reading about the Uckfield to Lewes line the other day, when that was closed about 40 years ago.   And I was up at Chippenham Station a couple of weeks ago and intentionally compared the bus and train leaving for Trowbridge within a few minuts of each other at aound 7 p.m.  ... bus, 3 passengers, train around 20.  That's why it's so good to see the  trains back during the day at Severn Beach - even if just every 2 hours.  And why the Ebbw Vale to Newport train service supporters should not see the failure of the bus to generate traffic as a reason to rethink the plans for the train.

[John R]

It took around 50 mins to get from Rogerstone to Newport, so was no use for passengers connecting into services at Newport. It went "round the houses" instead, which clearly was the wrong decision in hindsight.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Some good news, to justify resurrecting this old topic - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bus-rail link between Ebbw Vale and Newport returns

A subsidised express bus linking the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff rail line with Newport is being re-introduced three years after a previous service ended. It will connect with trains at Rogerstone and run every hour.

There have been longstanding calls to improve rail services between Newport and Ebbw Vale.

The Welsh government, which will initially fund the bus for a year, said it was the first step in improving transport links between the two towns.

A previous bus service on the route was scrapped in 2008 because of a lack of passengers.

Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant said the new bus service would be piloted for a year. "As a result of recent collaboration with Newport council, I'm pleased to confirm my support for . . . the new trial service," he said. "I see this as the first step towards improving rail services between Ebbw Vale and Newport. I welcome Newport's implementation of the trial express service to cater for demand and look forward to it being successful."

Passengers on the new service will be able but rail tickets on the bus and Arriva Trains Wales will sell through tickets to Newport. It is expected the journey time will be around 16 minutes.

Newport council leader Matthew Evans said: "We would welcome this as a first initial step being taken to improve the rail link between Ebbw Vale and Newport. Following a successful pilot of this link, Newport city council has been assured by the Welsh government that the next step of opening the rail link between the two areas will be fully considered. The council will continue to campaign vigorously for this to happen as however welcome a new express bus route is, it is clearly not a long term substitute for a rail service."

William Graham, Conservative AM for South Wales East, who has been campaigning for a rail link between Ebbw Vale and Newport, said it was desperately needed to help regenerate Newport city centre.

"Any improved transport link is to be be welcomed but it is not a substitute for the railway line," he added. "It must be well publicised unlike the previous service."