| New Welsh train stations part of £14bn UK government rail funding promise Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 10:36, 18th February 2026 |     |
From the BBC:
New train stations part of £14bn UK government rail funding promise
Plans to "transform" Wales's railways will be boosted by £14bn of UK government investment, the prime minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer, who is visiting south Wales on Wednesday, said the commitment to rail infrastructure improvements was "investment for the long term" and put "Wales on the front foot".
Transport for Wales's (TFW) improvements plan is in addition to building stations at Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and Deeside industrial park, which have already been proposed.
A Welsh government source told the BBC it was "the biggest day in devolution", but opponents accused the Labour UK government of "reheating" old announcements.
The UK government has not said when the money will be made available or over what period. It had already announced £445m for rail projects in Wales at last June's spending review, and has now explained that money will go towards building each of the seven stations.
These are where the new stations in south Wales will be located and where work will begin later this year
Initial work on five of the south east stations will begin later this year, with construction on two of them beginning in 2029. While no timescales have been announced, it is expected that Magor and Undy will be the first station to be completed.
The UK government claims Cardiff Parkway in east Cardiff - whose private developers had plans for the station approved in January 2025 after years of delays - could serve 800,000 passengers every year and support around 6,000 jobs. Cardiff Central Station is also being upgraded with work due to begin this spring.
A station will also be built at Deeside
Announcing the funding commitment, Sir Keir said: "For too long, Wales has been let down by a UK government unwilling to do the hard yards and build the future they deserve. This government is turning the page on historic dither and delay with seven new stations, thousands of jobs, and a generational commitment to build a rail network fit for Wales' future."
First Minister Eluned Morgan said: "We are now in an unprecedented position to deliver the next chapter of transformation for rail services in Wales."
The plans are included in TFW's latest vision document, which sets out dozens of projects to boost the rail network in Wales. It includes "Cardiff crossrail" extensions to Newport Road, direct services between Cardiff and Liverpool, a station at St Clears, services between west Wales and Bristol, and more trains to Pembroke Dock.
(BBC article continues)
Plans to "transform" Wales's railways will be boosted by £14bn of UK government investment, the prime minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer, who is visiting south Wales on Wednesday, said the commitment to rail infrastructure improvements was "investment for the long term" and put "Wales on the front foot".
Transport for Wales's (TFW) improvements plan is in addition to building stations at Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and Deeside industrial park, which have already been proposed.
A Welsh government source told the BBC it was "the biggest day in devolution", but opponents accused the Labour UK government of "reheating" old announcements.
The UK government has not said when the money will be made available or over what period. It had already announced £445m for rail projects in Wales at last June's spending review, and has now explained that money will go towards building each of the seven stations.
These are where the new stations in south Wales will be located and where work will begin later this year
Initial work on five of the south east stations will begin later this year, with construction on two of them beginning in 2029. While no timescales have been announced, it is expected that Magor and Undy will be the first station to be completed.
The UK government claims Cardiff Parkway in east Cardiff - whose private developers had plans for the station approved in January 2025 after years of delays - could serve 800,000 passengers every year and support around 6,000 jobs. Cardiff Central Station is also being upgraded with work due to begin this spring.
A station will also be built at Deeside
Announcing the funding commitment, Sir Keir said: "For too long, Wales has been let down by a UK government unwilling to do the hard yards and build the future they deserve. This government is turning the page on historic dither and delay with seven new stations, thousands of jobs, and a generational commitment to build a rail network fit for Wales' future."
First Minister Eluned Morgan said: "We are now in an unprecedented position to deliver the next chapter of transformation for rail services in Wales."
The plans are included in TFW's latest vision document, which sets out dozens of projects to boost the rail network in Wales. It includes "Cardiff crossrail" extensions to Newport Road, direct services between Cardiff and Liverpool, a station at St Clears, services between west Wales and Bristol, and more trains to Pembroke Dock.
(BBC article continues)
| Re: New Welsh train stations part of £14bn UK government rail funding promise Posted by Noggin at 22:46, 18th February 2026 | |
This also includes the "union connectivity" improvements between Cardiff and Bristol including the upgrade of the relief lines.
Worth noting that the Cardiff to Bristol TfL semi-fast service starts in September 2026 - let's hope there's some money in that pot for wiring Filton Bank and Temple Meads :-)
| Re: New Welsh train stations part of £14bn UK government rail funding promise Posted by John D at 08:49, 19th February 2026 | |
The full 38 page document which includes all the proposed schemes (most of which remain unfunded currently) is here
https://tfw.wales/sites/default/files/2026-02/TTT-Final_ENG.pdf
The service to Bristol is number 22 on the map / list
(numbering is not a priority order, it is 7 near central Cardiff, then runs roughly clockwise from Anglesey via borders to SW Wales)
Just to be clear the Bristol services are from South West Wales, and are basically an extension of services that currently terminate at Cardiff. It is not a Cardiff-Bristol stand alone service (which is the way some people seem to describe it).
My understanding is it will be operated by class 197 DMUs. Although they were ordered in 2018 (yes, 7-8 years ago), a number are still not in service, and others keep failing. Many of them are also only 2car and appears crowding on these short trains is common.
The work (funded) includes line speed improvements on the relief (slow) lines between Severn Tunnel Junction and Cardiff). Looks like majority of the new stations will be a single island serving these lines with one track slewed around the new island platform. From another document platforms appear to be 170m (sufficient for 8x20m EMU).
The new agreed funding includes enhancements at Cardiff West junction in 2028 to allow frequency increase. There are ambitions to extend electrification in Cardiff area (Cardiff- Cogan) so that Penarth is within battery range of the class 398 tram-trains
The new document includes more south Wales electrification (proposed, not yet funded) including as far as Swansea - Burry Port & Pembray where a turn back will be added, although presumably bimodes could continue beyond here (or battery EMUs to Carmarthen), the final stage mentions Pontarddulais - Cwrt Sart (I had to look this up, it is near Briton Ferry station), so is basically the north Swansea District line.
Although not mentioned it is fairly obvious that if growth (rail usage) continues in Wales, more new trains will need to be ordered soon. It would appear to be daft to order more pure diesel trains if more lines will hopefully become part or wholly electric, allowing the pure diesels to gradually migrate to the mainly unelectrified bits.
| Re: New Welsh train stations part of £14bn UK government rail funding promise Posted by Oxonhutch at 10:11, 19th February 2026 | |
Interesting is the proposed extension from Coryton to Radyr along the disused Cardiff Railway, including rebuilding the bridge over the River Taff. The original only ever carried one train in its life, and was demolished during WWII. If they design it right, they could reuse the original bridge footings which never saw much dynamic loading.
