RDS South Wales is actively campaigning for daily passenger trains to run again on the freight-only line between Barry and Bridgend.
The service was a casualty of the Beeching Axe. It closed in June 1964. But since then passenger trains, including 125mph InterCity expresses have used the line as a diversionary route when engineers are working on the main line through Pontyclun (Llantrisant). Since then, too, the local communities on the line have grown from villages to sizeable towns. The residents think it's crazy that passenger trains go through but they can't stop because all the stations are derelict.
It will take only £2 million or so to restore the stations and other facilities needed for passenger services. They would call at - Llantwit Major, a large town whose pretty centre and excellent seaside location attract hordes of tourists in summer; - St Athan/Gileston, a major RAF centre which would generate business for the railway with service people, and other residents, needing to travel; - Rhoose/Cardiff International Airport, a town which is close to the biggest airport in Wales. A free shuttle bus would connect with each train to take passengers to the airport.
Vale line go-ahead vindicates RDS campaign! 12 March 2001
Regular passenger trains over the Vale of Glamorgan line came significantly nearer to being realised as a result of two announcements in January. The National Assembly's transport spending plan for the next five years included £11m for various projects including the Vale line reopening, and this was followed by the SRA declaring that the scheme would receive an award from the Rail Passenger Partnership fund - the fisrt such instance in Wales. Stations will be provided at Rhoose (for airport) and Llantwit Major. An hourly service is envisaged on weekdays, and two-hourly on Sundays. The latter aspect is particularly welcome in view of the sparse or non-existent Sunday service provision on other reopened lines in south Wales. The Assembly announcement envisages trains starting in autumn 2002, while the SRA speaks of 2003.
Previous reopening proposals have been confined to operating the route as a dead-end branch from Barry to Llantwit Major. In our book 'Rails to the Vale'. published in 1997 (have you got your copy? a few still remain in stock) we argued that such an arrangement would be unlikely to be viable and that any reintroduced service should operate over the full length of the line to Bridgend. This will enable attractive access to the airport from the west, as well as linking the large town of Barry to the mainline network more effectively. That this is now to occur, and has stood up to the scrutiny of the SRA, fully vindicates our position and we can claim our share of the credit for this exciting reopening.
That is not the end of the matter however. It is vital that the new Wales & Borders franchisee takes up the opportunities presented in a positive way with a view to developing the service beyond the minimum requirement of a Cardiff-Llantwit-Bridgend shuttle. In our Development Plan 'On Track for the 21st Century' (some copies still available!) we proposed various possible ways of integrating the VoG service into the network. One way would be to route some of the through trains to & from west Wales via the Vale, and at the other end through running to destinations east or north of Cardiff could be considered. Cardiff airport ought to see the rail service as a major advantage in its efforts to attract more scheduled air services (as opposed to mainly holiday charter flights), and the tourist areas in the west could also benefit if incoming air passengers knew there were good rail links from the airport - which tourists are used to finding in other parts of Europe.
We have published a book on railways in the Vale of Glamorgan as a way of putting our campaign message across to the public. Click here for more information.