NETWORK Rail has unveiled a £200 million plan to boost the capacity of lines in south Wales. Tendering and some minor work has already begun.

The upgrade will allow more and longer trains to run through Cardiff, where passenger demand is increasing and freight will also need more paths.

Signalling will be modernised as well, making it compatible with both electrification and a future upgrade to ERTMS, which has just gone live on the mid-Wales lines between Shrewsbury and the Cambrian Coast.

The scheme will remove a bottleneck on the city line, allowing extra four trains an hour to run through the Cardiff area. This will could provide another 600 seats during rush hours.

Network Rail said passenger demand in the area has been increasing by an average of 8 per cent in recent years, and is forecasting that the number of passengers will top 12 million annually by the end of 2015.

As 900 trains already travel through the Cardiff area daily, more capacity will be needed by the end of this decade.

Mike Gallop, who is principal programme sponsor for Network Rail, said: “This scheme will take the railway in Cardiff and South Wales Valleys into the next frontier. The benefits of this scheme are huge as it lays the fundamental building blocks to unlock the untapped potential of this area, whilst paving the way for electrification and meeting a growing demand. Wales relies on rail – a reliable and robust railway forms a key pillar for a healthy economy and this scheme will help Wales continue to thrive.”

The Great Western Railway modernised Cardiff Central (then Cardiff General) in the 1930s by rebuilding the nineteenth century station and upgrading its approaches.

Network Rail's plans now including ‘untangling’ Cardiff East Junction and laying additional running lines.

New platforms will be built at Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street, Barry, Tir-phil, Caerphilly and Pontypridd to accommodate more and longer trains. Network Rail added that ‘extra efforts’ will also be put in to improve the accessibility and environment at Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Pontypridd.

The main engineering work will begin this autumn, with completion in 2015, ready for new trains for the area which should arrive three years after that. 

Network Rail is currently tendering for different contractors, including signalling, buildings and track, while the detailed design plan is being finalised and some minor preparatory work begins.