7 Rejected

Bringing forward new proposals for greater connectivity between Swansea-Cardiff- Bristol, which would include completing electrification...

Recommendation
Bringing forward new proposals for greater connectivity between Swansea-Cardiff- Bristol, which would include completing electrification on the mainline between Cardiff and Swansea and a Swansea Bay Metro to integrate the public transport network westwards to Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire and feed rail patronage from Swansea, would be an important sign of the UK Government’s commitment to its green agenda and to improving connectivity across the UK. We call on the UK Government to produce draft proposals before the end of 2021.
Government Response Summary
The UK Government notes the recommendations but rejects the call for electrification between Cardiff and Swansea, citing previous cancellation due to high costs and poor value for money, and defers future electrification decisions to Network Rail's technical review. It does not commit to producing draft proposals for broader connectivity by the end of 2021.
Paragraph Reference
40
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government Rejected
The UK Government notes these recommendations, although agrees that electrification will play an important role in our programme to achieve our net zero 2050 target (see the response to Recommendation 5). Future decisions on electrification of the network will be guided by Network Rail’s TDNS, a set of recommendations that suggests which traction decarbonisation solutions (electrification, battery, or hydrogen) could be best suited to which parts of the currently unelectrified network. The 2017 cancellation of the electrification of the main line between Cardiff and Swansea was due to significant increase in costs and poor value for money. A driving reason was that electrification would provide no significant journey time saving between Cardiff and Swansea, as the maximum line speed over most of the route between the two cities is 90mph. The full benefits of running the Hitachi Intercity Express Trains in electric mode would not be possible even with electrification, with comparable journey times regardless of whether operating in diesel or electric.
Addressee Bodies
Wales Office
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.0 yrs
Report published 14 Jul 2021