Plans are underway for a new rail line between Cardiff Bay and the city centre.
A report commissioned by the Welsh Government last year revealed the possibility of a Crossrail tram-train route with new platforms south of Cardiff Central train station, potentially at Callaghan Square.
Now an announcement on the Transport for Wales (TfW) website appears to show the operator is going ahead with a new line from Cardiff Central to the Bay.
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"A new connection from the south side of Cardiff Central across Callaghan Square will... be introduced to connect with the Bay Line, serving the Butetown community, employment at Capital Quarter, and the new Atlantic Wharf development, with a new interchange being established at Pierhead Street," it reads.
It is part of the Welsh Government's South Wales Metro scheme, a £734million public transport network which was originally scheduled for completion in 2023, though TfW said last year there would be a delay of "months" due to coronavirus.
Inspired by London's integrated transport system, the South Wales Metro will connect Monmouthshire in the east, Bridgend in the west and Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil in the north.
The vision is for people to use the same ticket or travel card across south Wales and the old Valleys Lines network using rail, tram and bus services. Cardiff would be the main hub.
The latest update on the TfW website says: "The first Metro extensions will be from Aberdare to Hirwaun, utilising the old freight line that used to serve the Tower Colliery."
It adds: "We hope to open up new and improved stations on the Core Valleys Network including Treforest Estate and Gabalfa and will look to increase frequencies on the City, Coryton, Maesteg and Ebbw Valley lines."
A new train station, Cardiff Parkway, is planned for St Mellons in east Cardiff, with journeys to Cardiff Central or Newport in just seven minutes. TfW hopes it will be built by 2024, and will run eight trains an hour to Cardiff and Newport.
Another part of the scheme is the new £100million control centre and depot in Taff’s Well. TfW hopes to build a bridge to connect the depot — which will store a new £150million fleet of tram-trains — to the rail network by autumn.
The Metro will see four tram-trains travel into Cardiff each hour from locations including Merthyr, Treherbert and Aberdare — up from the current one or two an hour.
In an update on plans for "rapid transit" buses, TfW says: "Early focus will be on congested areas less well served by rail, including the north-west corridor between Talbot Green/Beddau and Cardiff, and between east Cardiff and west Newport."
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