Progress on the South Wales Metro has ben delayed and is now set to be finished by 2024, Transport for Wales has said. While the project, which will see much of the valley line network electrified, was due to be finished in 2023, Transport for Wales (TfW) has said that the majority of the first phase is scheduled to be complete in 2024.
The news of the delay, first reported by ITV Wales, comes as the first electric lines were installed. The £750m plans include tram-trains on lines from Cardiff to Treherbert, Aberdare, and Merthyr Tydfil. The project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and has received funds from UK government.
Transport for Wales has been carrying out construction, engineering, and infrastructure work to upgrade the rail network ready for the Metro, and will continue to do so. The works include electrifying around 170km of track, upgrading stations, installing new telecommunications and signalling systems, and building a new Metro train depot and their own Signalling Control Centre.
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So far, TfW has installed 432 signalling assets and 158 km of signalling cable, dug 1724 holes for electrification masts, installed 109 masts, renewed 18,000 metres of railway track and 25,000 metres of fencing. A spokesperson said that work is progressing well on the construction of a new £100m depot and Metro Control Centre at Taff’s Well, Rhondda Cynon Taff.
The Taff’s Well depot will be home to the new Metro trains as well as 400 train crew, 35 maintenance staff and 52 Metro Control Centre staff. Works have been focussed across the Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr, Queen Street and City Lines; with early works now commencing on the area between Queen Street North and Rhymney.
However, like many projects across Wales and beyond, the pandemic has caused delays. "Like similar organisations undertaking major infrastructure programmes, we have encountered delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global shortage of available materials but progress is now being made at pace," a spokesperson said. So, when is the Metro likely to be ready?
TfW says that the majority of key works for the first phase of the South Wales Metro is scheduled for completion in 2024. "The first of our brand new fleet of trains for the South Wales Metro will enter into passenger service in early 2023, signifying the start of delivery of the South Wales Metro. The South Wales Metro is a complex project and will be delivered in different phases," a TfW spokesperson said.
Some lines will be launching sooner than others. Work will be phased over the coming years, with the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr lines due to be electrified first, followed by the Rhymney, Coryton and Cardiff Bay lines.
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