West Wales Parkway railway station

West Wales Parkway (Welsh: Parcffordd Gorllewin Cymru; also proposed as Swansea North; Gogledd Abertawe and Parc Felindre) is a proposed railway station north of Swansea, near to the boundaries of the neighbouring principal area of Carmarthenshire, and the villages of Felindre and Llangyfelach. The station is proposed to be situated at the former Felindre steelworks, near Junction 46 of the M4 and A48, and near Felindre Business Park and Penllergaer Business Park.[2] The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line to passenger traffic.[3]

West Wales Parkway

Parcffordd Gorllewin Cymru
National Rail
Proposed railway station
General information
Other namesSwansea North (Welsh: Gogledd Abertawe), Parc Felindre
Locationnear Llangyfelach and Felindre, Swansea
Wales
Owned byTransport for Wales[1]
Managed byTransport for Wales Rail
Line(s)Swansea District Line (currently freight only)
Platforms2
Train operatorsTransport for Wales Rail
Other information
StatusProposed
Key dates
July 2019Proposal announced

Origins
See also: Proposed railway stations in Wales

Swansea has long been without high speed rail services due to extensive speed limits on the Swansea Loop and Bridgend to Swansea line, set at 40 mph (65 km/h) and 75 mph (120 km/h) respectively.[4]

A number of experts have debated solutions for rail travel in the area, including Professor Mark Barry of Cardiff University. As part of a project commissioned by the Welsh Government,[5] Barry has argued for either a service via the (currently freight-only) Swansea District Line,[6] or the construction of a new line from Baglan to Swansea via the Swansea Bay coast,[6] with a tram-train extension to The Mumbles [6] mirroring the historic tramway which opened in 1807, the first passenger railway in the world.[6]

In July 2019 the then Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling launched the concept of a West Wales Parkway station, to be constructed on the Swansea District Line near Felindre, at a cost of £20m. They proposed the route would allow for "time savings of up to a quarter of an hour from Pembrokeshire to Cardiff" and improvements in connectivity in the Swansea area.[3]

Barry responded to the proposals positively, but insisted that any services would have to bypass Swansea railway station in order to see journey time improvements. This, he argued, meant the Government would still have to invest a significant amount more in building a "broader proposal for the whole of the Swansea bay" in order to prevent negative consequences for Swansea city centre.[3]

Grand Union

Grand Union plans to operate a new service from 2025 from Carmarthen to London Paddington. A new station that the service will call at is proposed at the West Wales Parkway site with the working name of Parc Felindre.[7][8]


Construction
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
  Future services  
Llansamlet   Transport for Wales
Swansea District line		   Llangennech

See also

References
  1. BBC news, Cardiff Central railway station to get £58m upgrade. 22 July 2019
  2. "WEST WALES PARKWAY STATION – A Scoping Study for the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Wales Office.
  3. "Wales' busiest railway station to get £58m upgrade". BBC News. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. "House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee: The Provision of Rail Services in Wales" (PDF). House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee. 17 March 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2004.
  5. "Step forward for Swansea Bay Metro plans". Swansea Bay City Deal. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  6. Pyke, Chris (25 July 2017). "The man behind the vision for the south Wales Metro now has a plan for Swansea". walesonline. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  7. "Independent rail firm bids to launch as rival to Great Western on the mainline from south Wales to London". 13 May 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  8. "Carmarthen To London - The Route". Grand Union. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

51°40′41″N 3°57′53″W

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