By Ashley Karen
TfW (Transport for Wales) is carrying on to move ahead with the building of the South Wales Metro, with essential works having been delivered in December 2021 and early January 2022.
From 24 December 2021 until the early hours of 7 January 2022, the railway was closed between Pontypridd and both Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. The blockade enabled Transport of Wales and their partners to work 24 hours on major infrastructure works.
This compromised the removal of Devil’s Footbridge; the installation of more than 63,000m of fiber-optic cable for the upgrading of signaling equipment; and more than 100 trial holes and a mixture of foundations finished in readiness for the electrification of the line. Also, teams on the ground successfully installed 150m of the track, containing five switching and crossing panels.
Karl Gilmore, Rail Infrastructure Director at Transport for Wales stated: “We safely and successfully completed another blockade on the Core Valley Lines, which means another forward step in delivering the South Wales Metro for the people of Wales. We were able to deliver key infrastructure works that will allow us to electrify the line and prepare it for the introduction of brand-new tram-trains in the coming years.”
He continued: “Our teams and partners worked continuously over the Christmas break to minimize disruption to the traveling public. I’d like to thank our teams and partners for their dedication and hard work in testing weather conditions, and also to the traveling public and our lineside neighbors for their understanding and continued support.”
The transformation of the Core Valley Lines for the Metro has been partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh government, and will allow faster, more frequent services between Cardiff and the heads of the valleys.
