Welsh set the example to the rest of UK’s railways
In this guest post, writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar explains how Wales is quietly getting its transport policy right and what the rest of the UK could learn from it.
Quietly and unobtrusively, Wales has become the transport example that much of the rest of Britain should follow. It is leading the way in several respects, partly because it passed a Wellbeing Act in 2015 that set goals which were not solely based on ‘growth’ but rather on wider societal aims such as equality and health.
In transport terms, the Wellbeing Act has translated into developing a far more sustainable approach than in the rest of the UK with an overtly pro-public transport agenda. Moreover, Welsh politicians have been canny in putting forward a major rail scheme and brave in putting forward Measures such as the 20 MPH limit in most built up areas that has now been shown to save lives. As a result, the plan for M4 widening was ditched in the back end of the 2010s and an inquiry led by a senior civil servant was held in 2020 to look at alternative solutions to congestion in South Wales which were very much rooted in investing in the local rail network.
Sadly some of the recommendations in that report have mouldered on the shelf because of the general squeeze on public spending but that has not stopped what is nothing short of a rail revolution. Wales used to be a backwater of England’s transport system, with the trains being run through a franchise designed to cater for the expected gentle decline of rail usage in the face of growing motorisation. Arriva Trains Wales became a byword for everything that was wrong about the franchising system, and while Arriva certainly did not shine, it was the very system that was at fault. Trains in a country like Wales will always need subsidy but franchising was designed to reduce as much as possible the amount needed to keep the system going.
Enter Transport for Wales (TfW), created in 2016 by the Welsh Senedd to improve public transport across the country and crucially it obtained responsibility for letting the franchise for rail services. It also assumed responsibility for the old Valley Lines when the Arriva franchise ran out. After a protracted period of negotiation, TfW became both the owner of the infrastructure for these lines but also the operator. In other words, its structure became a model for what the Great British Railways is becoming, by being the integrated provider for rail services. By the end of next year, virtually every train running on Welsh rails will be new or just a few years old. Frequencies are also been increased on numerous routes, and many stations have had a complete makeover and been made accessible for people with disabilities.
The biggest beneficiaries of the considerable investment worth around £2bn have been users of what was once the smallest franchise, the Cardiff Valley Lines or core lines as they are also known. Originally built as links between the mines and Cardiff Bay, transporting millions of tons of coal annually, they survived the Beeching cuts because the mines were still functioning in the 1960s but were completely neglected and all but forgotten about with stations and trains competing to be the most dilapidated.
Now the most radical transformation since Clark Kent last burst out of his workday suit is happening on these lines. It is nowhere near finished as many trains are waiting to be introduced and timetables increased. However, already the ride I took to Taff’s Well from Cardiff Central was in a very European style new Stadler train that was a cut above anything that had ever run on these services previously. Indeed, all the core lines will be getting new rolling stock, either electric powered tram trains which one day may be used on new tracks designed for tram use, or tri mode stock which can be powered by electricity either directly or from batteries, and diesel. There are also a small fleet of diesel trains which may eventually be fitted with pantographs and electric power equipment.
Since the investment programme after the takeover of the service by TfW, there have been double digit annual increases in ridership on the core lines which carry around 50 per cent of all passenger rail journeys in Wales even though they represent less than ten per cent of its mileage. Every facet of the service has been improved, notably the introduction of Pay As You Go ticketing which has not only made it easier for travellers, but also has saved money which James Price, TfW’s Chief Executive Officer, says “has allowed us to reduce some fares”.
Price was particularly keen to emphasise that under the new integrated system, TfW’s train service has become what would be the best performing network in the UK if it were a conventional franchise. He suggests this is a result of “a lot of management presence and focus, and a team that really wants to do a good job with an integrated railway”. This success is good news for Great British Railways as it suggests that integration can indeed deliver better performance without a great injection of funds.
The tram train depot is at Taff’s Well, a brand new facility stuffed full of the trams which will start to go into service in February. The site used to be a steel factory owned by Forgemasters which makes it an interesting example of the way that places like Wales are adapting to an economy no longer based on coal and steel. Notably, ultimately it will have 450 jobs as both drivers and maintenance workers will be based there, which is precisely the number that used to be employed by Forgemasters. Of course all this has cost a lot of public money and there are still politicians who argue it is money wasted. They do not understand how transformational nature of such schemes and how they benefit society – and the economy – as a whole. By always emphasising the costs of schemes, their wider value – what economists call externalities –is often forgotten. A trip to Wales and what is happening there would enlighten them.
Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster specialising in transport. He frequently appears on TV and radio talking about current issues, notably about the railways. This article first appeared on Christian’s weekly Substack: Welsh set the example to the rest of UK’s railways. Sign up to Christian’s substack here.
The full interview with James Price, Transport for Wales Chief Executive Officer, can be heard on Christian’s podcast, Calling All Stations, season 4 episode 2.
For more background to recent transport policy in Wales, see our case study: Wales: bold transport policies with a view to the future
Photo courtesy of Transport for Wales.
