Cardiff ‘Crossrail’ tramway announced

Plans for a 17-mile (27km) east–west tram line across Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, have been announced by the City Council and Transport for Wales (TfW).  

 

Public consultation will run until the end of October. The line would run from Creigiau in the city’s north-west suburbs via Ninian Park and Cardiff Central station, continuing to Cardiff Bay (where a new arena is planned) then east to Newport Rd connecting to the proposed Parkway railway station at St Mellons. The first phase would link the city centre with Cardiff Bay, as already proposed by the TfW South Wales Metro project. there could be a short branch at Cardiff Bay to Pierhead St near the Welsh parliament (Sennd). 

 

It is hoped to start work in the autumn of 2025 and open phase 1 in late 2028 or early 2029. £100M is available for phase 1, with £50m from the UK government’s levelling up fund and £50M from the Welsh government. 

 

TfW says Crossrail is full aligned with plans that are being implemented to create South Wales Metro based on existing railway lines. This will include tram-trains running through from the Cardiff Ba (Bute St) branch to Pontypridd. The new station at Cardiff Bay, planned to be two platform to accommodate the tram-trains will become three platform to include the trams. 

 

Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning and Transport on Cardiff City council said, 'The Cardiff Crossrail project has been a long-held ambition for a long time and when fully complete will connect some of the most deprived communities in Cardiff to the railway network for the first time. To start this process, the first phase of the scheme must be built between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay. This will finally ensure that Butetown is properly connected to the city centre, through the new tramway, providing further capacity for residents and visitors to access the wide range of attractions that Cardiff has to offer. We want the public to engage in the consultation process, so they can give their feedback on the very first phase of this exciting project. 

 

Dan Tipper, TfW’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, said: 'Today, in partnership with Cardiff Council, we’ve shared exciting plans for the delivery of a brand-new tramway between Cardiff Central station and Cardiff Bay station. These plans align with work already underway to build a new track on the Cardiff Bay line, which will allow faster and more frequent services using brand-new tram-trains. Our ambition is that the new tramway will contribute towards a more sustainable transport network for Cardiff, encouraging more people to leave their cars at home and instead choose more sustainable ways to travel’.