Cross Keys - Newport direct services now operating

[Tomos y Tanc]

TfW seems to get a lot of criticism on here but today, with no fanfare, passenger services resumed from the Ebbw Valley line into Newport for the first time since 1962. Initially services will run from Cross Keys into Newport hourly on weekdays. The services are due to be extended to Ebbw Vale in 2023.

It's not revoutionary but it's a major step forward and something people have been calling for ever since the Ebbw Valley line reopened to passengers.

 

[YorkshireBear]

TfW seems to get a lot of criticism on here but today, with no fanfare, passenger services resumed from the Ebbw Valley line into Newport for the first time since 1962. Initially services will run from Cross Keys into Newport hourly on weekdays. The services are due to be extended to Ebbw Vale in 2023.

It's not revoutionary but it's a major step forward and something people have been calling for ever since the Ebbw Valley line reopened to passengers.

Sorry I might be confused, do you mean into Cardiff?

 

[HST43257]

Sorry I might be confused, do you mean into Cardiff?

The Newport link has reopened, adding an hourly Cross Keys to Newport to the hourly Ebbw Vale Town to Cardiff.

 

[Oxfordblues]

This is excellent news, part of a long-term plan to incrementally right some of the wrongs of the past. The line was shut by the dreadful Ernest Marples on 30 April 1962. All sorts of new journey opportunities are opened-up such as Risca-Bristol and Rogerstone-Chepstow. I'm doing the line on Tuesday (despite an hourly 57-minute connection at Newport!)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

How come the service is just to Cross Keys rather than Ebbw Vale Town?
Presumably either lack of rolling stock, or paths on the single line sections?

 

[Starmill]

Work on extending the double track was started some years ago and then stopped again from what I recall. I understand that current none of it has been finished?

 

[TravelDream]

Work on extending the double track was started some years ago and then stopped again from what I recall. I understand that current none of it has been finished?

Some work north of Cross Keys has been done. A bridge had to be replaced and one suitable for double tracks was put in place.

This was from earlier in the year too.

''A £70 MILLION loan will be offered to Blaenau Gwent council to put plans in motion to re-open the rail line between Newport and Ebbw Vale.
The funding will enable the long-awaited restoration of direct rail links between Newport and Ebbw Vale.
Welsh Government has announced the funding as part of its new transport strategy which was published today, Friday.
The interest-free loan will enable infrastructure improvements to be taken forward alongside Network Rail and Transport for Wales.
In a ministerial statement, the Welsh Government said the work will “secure the additional service between Newport and Ebbw Vale, and help unlock our jointly held aspirations to re-open the spur to Abertillery ultimately increasing services to four trains per hour”.''

Long-awaited re-opening of the Newport-Ebbw Vale rail line finally going ahead

A £70 MILLION loan will be offered to Blaenau Gwent council to put plans in motion to re-open the rail line between Newport and Ebbw Vale.

www.southwalesargus.co.uk

 

[norbitonflyer]

How come the service is just to Cross Keys rather than Ebbw Vale Town?
Presumably either lack of rolling stock, or paths on the single line sections?

The latter, as I understand it.

 

[yorkie]

...All sorts of new journey opportunities are opened-up such as Risca-Bristol and Rogerstone-Chepstow....

These aren't quite new journey opportunities but it is true to say journey times are reduced, making such journeys more viable and attractive.

 

[Parallel]

Good news if this is a reliable service for the line that will open many faster journey opportunities by rail.

The cynic in me questions if this is the best time to implement this service when they are having a prolonged issue with resource availability.

Worth noting that trains have run to Ebbw Vale from Newport or Gloucester before when engineering works see the line closed between Newport and Cardiff.

 

[Llandudno]

Probably wise for TfW not going overboard with publicity for this new line considering the rest of the network is short of units and train crew.

Does seem odd opening a new route when they can’t even cover their existing, covid reduced timetable…

 

[Tomos y Tanc]

It seems this has been picked up by the media.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59578885

Monday's 06:49 from Crosskeys railway station's platform two will look like any other train - but this one has been almost 60 years in the making.

After the work was first announced last December, almost a mile of track has been upgraded between the city's Tredegar Park and its main line rail station to carry passenger services as well as freight trains from Newport to communities in the lower Ebbw Valley.

 

[Caaardiff]

It's making better use of the under utilised 170 fleet which is restricted to just 3 of TfW's routes (Maesteg, Cheltenham and Ebbw Vale).
Also I don't think the shortages are as bad at the Cardiff Mainline depot. Valleys, Carmarthen and North Wales are separate depots that seem to get hit the worst.

 

[Donny_m]

I don’t quite get it, as that line was already in use, going off the mainline at Alexandra Dock Junction DBS depot up to Ebbw Vale.

Looking at google earth there’s a small branch coming off this line into a tunnel and out on the mainline towards Newport, looks about a mile long. Is this what’s actually reopened?

 

[Watershed]

I don’t quite get it, as that line was already in use, going off the mainline at Alexandra Dock Junction DBS depot up to Ebbw Vale.

Looking at google earth there’s a small branch coming off this line into a tunnel and out on the mainline towards Newport, looks about a mile long. Is this what’s actually reopened?

Yes. Though strictly speaking, even that bit hasn't "reopened" as it has seen passenger services on a handful of occasions during engineering work etc.

But it's the addition of a regular link from these towns and villages to their closest city - Newport - that's new.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I don’t quite get it, as that line was already in use, going off the mainline at Alexandra Dock Junction DBS depot up to Ebbw Vale.
Looking at google earth there’s a small branch coming off this line into a tunnel and out on the mainline towards Newport, looks about a mile long. Is this what’s actually reopened?

The original plan was for both Newport and Cardiff to be served when the Ebbw Vale line reopened, but the signalling at the Newport end was not upgraded so the Newport service was not started, except for days when the Cardiff service couldn't run because of engineering works on the main line.
A more general line upgrade to facilitate a higher frequency to both Cardiff and Newport was begun about a decade or so ago, but stalled half-way through construction with sections of double track in place but unused, and the project is just restarting for completion in 2023.
Meanwhile a partial service to Newport can be provided.

 

[YorkshireBear]

The Newport link has reopened, adding an hourly Cross Keys to Newport to the hourly Ebbw Vale Town to Cardi

The Newport link has reopened, adding an hourly Cross Keys to Newport to the hourly Ebbw Vale Town to Cardiff.

Yep sorry got myself all confused....

 

[Donny_m]

The original plan was for both Newport and Cardiff to be served when the Ebbw Vale line reopened, but the signalling at the Newport end was not upgraded so the Newport service was not started, except for days when the Cardiff service couldn't run because of engineering works on the main line.
A more general line upgrade to facilitate a higher frequency to both Cardiff and Newport was begun about a decade or so ago, but stalled half-way through construction with sections of double track in place but unused, and the project is just restarting for completion in 2023.
Meanwhile a partial service to Newport can be provided.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. However I wasn’t querying information on the project itself but the actual route on the map.
The media have made it sound like a new line has been cleared and reopened between Newport and cross keys, but looking at the map it’s just a 1km stretch of tunnel under some houses going the opposite way to the cardiff bound train.

 

[Watershed]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. However I wasn’t querying information on the project itself but the actual route on the map.
The media have made it sound like a new line has been cleared and reopened between Newport and cross keys, but looking at the map it’s just a 1km stretch of tunnel under some houses going the opposite way to the cardiff bound train.

As I say, even that isn't new, it's just that this is the first time in decades it's had a regular passenger service. The upgrades to make it capable of passenger operation occurred years ago.

 

[DelW]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. However I wasn’t querying information on the project itself but the actual route on the map.
The media have made it sound like a new line has been cleared and reopened between Newport and cross keys, but looking at the map it’s just a 1km stretch of tunnel under some houses going the opposite way to the cardiff bound train.

Yes, that's the only stretch that has now regained a regular passenger service.
It's effectively the third side of a large triangular junction, the other two sides being the main line and the original Ebbw Vale line.

 

[snowball]

I'm confused because I was under the impression that the absence of some bit of track or signalling was the reason why this service has not happened before, yet now it is starting without any new track or signalling?

 

[Watershed]

I'm confused because I was under the impression that the absence of some bit of track or signalling was the reason why this service has not happened before, yet now it is starting without any new track or signalling?

It could have started years ago, TfW/ATW just didn't have the units to do so.

 

[Llandudno]

It could have started years ago, TfW/ATW just didn't have the units to do so.

They still haven’t….!

 

[Caaardiff]

It could have started years ago, TfW/ATW just didn't have the units to do so.

They've had plenty of spare unit capacity for this particular route since the 170's arrived. One has even gone off to EMR and there's still capacity with the remaining 11

 

[woolos]

At Crosskeys today the Passenger Information System (PIS) was not showing the Newport sevice.

On Sundays most of the services are Ebbw Vale to Cardiff via Newport

 

[Oxfordblues]

Yes, the indicator at Crosskeys showed the next train was for Cardiff. At least one passenger was advised to change at Pye Corner!

 

[Donny_m]

No wonder there wasn’t any fanfare

 

[Tomos y Tanc]

No wonder there wasn’t any fanfare

Which is absolutely the right way to do something. No ribbons. No politicians. No bragging.

Restart the service and iron out the inevitable bumps and glitches. Well done, TFW. Actions speak louder and all that.

 

[stj]

Nothing has changed to infrastructure to permit the service to run.It has run before during engineering work.I think the aim is to run a regular Newport to Ebbw Vale service that does not go via Cardiff which will need more units and passing loops.

 

[Oxfordblues]

Longer-term the aspiration is to restore the branch to Abertillery (if ever the finance is available!)