THE CASE FOR A LLANTRISANT TO CARDIFF METRO
Written by Gavin on 1st June 2022
Mark Drakeford MS Member of Senedd for Cardiff West and Mick Antoniw MS Member of Senedd for Pontypridd are set to launch a new report ‘The case for a Llantrisant to Cardiff Metro’ on Friday 10th June at 10am at the Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay.
The report, which has been produced by specialist transport consultancy Cogitamus highlights the economic and social benefits to the Cardiff West and Pontypridd constituencies of investing initially in a rapid bus/tram system, as a stepping-stone to a full metro rail link between Llantrisant and the capital.
Speaking in his capacity as the constituency Member of Senedd for Cardiff West, Mark Drakeford MS said:
“As Senedd Members who represent parts of Wales where the population is growing significantly, we see at first hand the urgent need for more housing to meet the needs of our local residents.
“But with the development of new housing comes the need for the wider infrastructure to support those homes, and the people who live in them. As well as schools and health services, transport is a key to making these new communities work, and to respond to the impact which new housing produces on existing residents.”
The report highlights the environmental benefits of providing affordable transport in order to reduce reliance on cars. The two Members of Senedd agree that this is one of the major policy challenges of our time.
Mick Antoniw MS said:
“Successive Welsh Labour Governments have invested heavily in active travel measures and the South Wales Metro will over the coming years, see a real step-change in rail and bus services, both in Cardiff and the surrounding Valley areas.
“The Metro programme has been a great success and now it is time to look ahead and to identify those areas where the introduction of the next phase of Metro
services will have the greatest economic and environmental benefit.”
The report also quantifies the growth in housing in the two neighbouring constituencies and the impact further development will have on people’s ability to
travel from Taff Ely to Cardiff and vice versa.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this project is the potential to bring back into use miles of disused railway lines which run from the centre of Cardiff, out through the North West of the city and into Taff Ely to Llantrisant. These lines have been protected from development and the availability of these purpose-built corridors means that construction costs can be constrained.
“Finding ways to bring a former train line back into being, using contemporary transport possibilities, seems to us to be a solution waiting to happen.”
Mark Drakeford MS said:
“We recognise that this project will take substantial investment of public money, at a time when that is in very short supply.”
“But the case set out in the report is compelling, and deserves serious consideration, even if the timescale for any implementation has to reflect the availability of the necessary funding.”