🅿️ Parking & Transport: Cardiff Airport (CWL)

[Jerry]

Yes and it'll no doubt help boost services for the rest of Wales as well.
I travelled with GWR for the first yesterday and used the new trains and i had a really good journey with them. The new train was really nice to be a passenger on and the journey from Reading station was pretty quick as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes and it'll no doubt help boost services for the rest of Wales as well.
I travelled with GWR for the first yesterday and used the new trains and i had a really good journey with them. The new train was really nice to be a passenger on and the journey from Reading station was pretty quick as well.

Reading Station has had a massive overhaul in recent years. I think it's the second busiest on the GWR system after Paddington.

Is it a decent way of getting from LHR to the South Wales trains? I presume there is a link bus. Which company is it?

 

[Jerry]

Is it a decent way of getting from LHR to the South Wales trains? I presume there is a link bus. Which company is it?

Yes it is. The bus is called RailAir Link and departs/arrives from the front of Reading station and in my case picks you up/drops you off right at the front of Terminal 5 and there are services for the other terminals as well, it only took roughly 40 mins to get from T5 to the station so was really handy.
When i was on the platform there was a Welsh family waiting for the train, i think it might have been the one before me, and it does look like they'd come from Heathrow with their luggage tags. Reading station was really nice, i don't have much experience of train travel generally but it did look more modern than Cardiff Central and while i was there most of the trains that passed through were GWR with the exception of a Cross Country train. I did enjoy the train journey and would probably use it again if i was flying to or from Heahtrow in the future.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/m4-traffic-relief-road-newport-2934204

Bristol Live (Bristol Post) is reporting that the M4 relief road around Newport is set to be rejected by the Welsh Government tomorrow.

It's of interest to the Bristol area because increasing numbers of people are moving to South Wales from the West Country to take advantage of less expensive housing, but many of them then commute back into England for work. With the climate change lobby demanding more and more action it's ironic that the congestion around Newport will increase as more people take advantage of the toll-less M4 crossings, with more muck thrown into the atmosphere by slow-moving and stationary vehicles.

The relief road would also make road access to CWL that much easier.

 

[Jerry]

I kind of have mixed feelings about this as yes the M4 could do with being routed around the chokepoint of the brynglas tunnel I kind of feel that the money could be spent better elsewhere across Wales going towards the various metro schemes and bringing railway lines in west and mid Wales and maybe even a direct north to south line to help improve internal Welsh infrastructure.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I kind of have mixed feelings about this as yes the M4 could do with being routed around the chokepoint of the brynglas tunnel I kind of feel that the money could be spent better elsewhere across Wales going towards the various metro schemes and bringing railway lines in west and mid Wales and maybe even a direct north to south line to help improve internal Welsh infrastructure.

Fair enough, but making road access into South Wales (the most populous area of the country and the biggest economic engine) easier and toll-free, with the clear implication that more traffic will ensue and be needed to feed the economy, seems at odds with doing nothing to alleviate a major traffic pinch point only a few miles into the country.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

I'm the same as you Jerry. Whilst it is very much needed, other options need to be explored. But I do think any money needs to specifically be put into alleviating the congestions through Newport rather than on other projects. Traffic as it is, is already bad enough. With the recent influx of people moving the Welsh side of the bridge, and that likely continuing to happen for some time, it's only going to get worse.
With that in mind, better transport links may need to be looked at, especially for those commuters heading from South East Wales to Bristol. Anyone in the Chepstow area would need to change trains at Severn Tunnel Junction for Temple Meads or further South, or Newport for Bristol Parkway and further East. The current train network leaves a lot to be desired, but recently GWR have increase capacity on their trains to Temple Meads, and the various improvements with new trains on the London Mainline. There's currently no link for Newport Valleys from Ebbw Vale in to Newport, which is in the pipeline over the next few years.

Options for freight should be looked at to reduce lorry usage.

A bus link with a slight local element needs to be looked into, starting at Newport or even Cardiff, with some en route stops such as Newport East, Magor & Chepstow and local stops en route heading from Avonmouth and in to Bristol City Centre. The direct bus route was lost when First lost the Airport contract and the current National Express to BRS now bypasses the City Centre.

Secondly it's an alternative for anyone driving through the tunnels heading North that would come off at the Coldra onto the A449/M50. It has been suggested improving this access by bypassing over the North of Newport or even as far up as the Valleys.

There is however the issue of Cardiff's profile in hosting events. Traffic from the East can be a nightmare in the run up to special events in the city. That's where the tunnels really cause a problem.

The Newport Distributor road was a good investment previously, but i don't think it's now serving it's purpose. As it's still an A road, there's a number of pinch points along the route through various roundabouts and junction, which causes tailbacks on that route as well. An improved, dual carriage route, with fewer pinch points shouldn't mean too much amendments and will help the traffic flow as an alternative route around the tunnels.

 

[Jerry]

I think that if they built the relief road they'd encourage more people to just use them. Investing in public transport with Express coach link's and light rail would help reduce the amount of traffic.
As for freight if they let Tesco build a rail spur to their depots at magor that would save a bit of traffic going from wentloog to magor.

 

[Cambrian]

First bus already operate a bus service from Newport to Bristol bus station which travels via Magor and Chepstow. It operates from 8AM hourly until the last journey at 6PM. Journey time is 1 hour 25 mins.
There is speculation that the Welsh Govt. will tomorrow, announce alternatives to the M4 relief road. It will be interesting to see what these are.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I'm the same as you Jerry. Whilst it is very much needed, other options need to be explored. But I do think any money needs to specifically be put into alleviating the congestions through Newport rather than on other projects. Traffic as it is, is already bad enough. With the recent influx of people moving the Welsh side of the bridge, and that likely continuing to happen for some time, it's only going to get worse.
With that in mind, better transport links may need to be looked at, especially for those commuters heading from South East Wales to Bristol. Anyone in the Chepstow area would need to change trains at Severn Tunnel Junction for Temple Meads or further South, or Newport for Bristol Parkway and further East. The current train network leaves a lot to be desired, but recently GWR have increase capacity on their trains to Temple Meads, and the various improvements with new trains on the London Mainline. There's currently no link for Newport Valleys from Ebbw Vale in to Newport, which is in the pipeline over the next few years.

Options for freight should be looked at to reduce lorry usage.

A bus link with a slight local element needs to be looked into, starting at Newport or even Cardiff, with some en route stops such as Newport East, Magor & Chepstow and local stops en route heading from Avonmouth and in to Bristol City Centre. The direct bus route was lost when First lost the Airport contract and the current National Express to BRS now bypasses the City Centre.

Secondly it's an alternative for anyone driving through the tunnels heading North that would come off at the Coldra onto the A449/M50. It has been suggested improving this access by bypassing over the North of Newport or even as far up as the Valleys.

There is however the issue of Cardiff's profile in hosting events. Traffic from the East can be a nightmare in the run up to special events in the city. That's where the tunnels really cause a problem.

The Newport Distributor road was a good investment previously, but i don't think it's now serving it's purpose. As it's still an A road, there's a number of pinch points along the route through various roundabouts and junction, which causes tailbacks on that route as well. An improved, dual carriage route, with fewer pinch points shouldn't mean too much amendments and will help the traffic flow as an alternative route around the tunnels.

You mentioned a more local bus service from Newport going east. Ironically the hourly Severn Express service that routes Bristol bus station- Cribbs Causeway-Chepstow-Newport bus station no longer links such places as Magor and Caldicot. Instead, it operates along the motorway between Chepstow and Newport. That speeds up the overall journey and I believe there are local buses between Chepstow and Newport that serve the places previously served by the Severn Express.

I'm not sure what its purpose is. Most people seem to use it between Chepstow and Cribbs Causeway for shopping, and those in the know realise it's by far the quickest route between Bristol city centre and Cribbs Causeway. It doesn't seem to do an awful lot to link Bristol with Newport and the various connecting buses from there further into Wales including to the capital.

You also mentioned increased GWR rail capacity from/to Bristol TM. Is that on the Exeter/Taunton/TM/Cardiff route? I ask because I saw one of the old GWR HSTs pulling into TM from the Weston direction today as I went over a bridge and I wondered if it was operating the Cardiff service.

Reading your comments and those of Jerry, it seems that there is a need for something to be done around Newport in particular but a relief road to the M4 might not be the answer.

 

[Jerry]

Apparently the airport rail link bus will go to Barry train station in the future and not Rhoose due to TFW not upgrading the Rhoose line as part of the metro.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

The idea of the Airport bus switching to Barry was first suggested long before the new franchise was put in place. There's currently 3 trains per hour to Barry Island and 1 per hour through to Bridgend (via Rhoose), meaning 4 trains per hour from Cardiff/Valleys to Barry.
When the Metro is complete around 2023 there will be an increase of 1 train per hour through to Bridgend, meaning a half hourly service for the Airport via Rhoose from either Bridgend (and connections to/from the West) and Cardiff, and 5 per hour to/from Barry to Cardiff/Valleys. There is no planned increase to services to Barry Island.

Google maps shows Barry - CWL as being a 11 min drive and Rhoose station - CWL as being a 7 min drive. The change will provide many more additional options for rail connections. Cardiff Central - Barry is a 23 min train journey. So looking at best part of a 40 min journey to Central, vs a 30 min journey by T9. But not forgetting the Barry trains often originate in the Valleys so could make accessing the Airport from the Valleys much easier. It does mean however making connections from the West via Bridgend less favourable, adding journey time by heading East to Barry before heading West back to Bridgend.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

https://gov.wales/written-statement-principles-public-transport-connectivity

The Welsh Government 20 year rail plan (Wish list over promises as stated). Things to note for CWL:

- Reinforce Cardiff Central, Newport and Swansea High Street as Principal Interchanges serving south Wales.

- Minimum of 4 services per hour to Cardiff Airport from the south Wales Principal Interchanges.

I assume that these are direct services as Bridgend isn't mentioned as an interchange from the West, and Newport is also classed as a South Wales interchange.

 

[Jerry]

- Minimum of 4 services per hour to Cardiff Airport from the south Wales Principal Interchanges.

I'm assuming then this would be to Cardiff airports own station rather than Rhoose or Barry. Would be good for the airport to have trains from Newport and Swansea.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

If the four principal exchanges are Swansea, Bridgend, Cardff and Newport, reading from the west, I wonder if the 'minimum 4 services per hour' are actually two in each direction, ie Swansea, Bridgend to airport every half hour that then continues to Cardiff and Newport, and Newport and Cardiff every half hour that then continues to Bridgend and Swansea.

I would have thought that four in each direction every hour is over ambitious and perhaps overkill, even if CWL was handling say 5 mppa. Two every hour in both directions would still be a very good link to the airport, especially if longer distance trains connected seamlessly at the principal exchanges.

Another point I noticed was the specific intention to improve rail services to Liverpool and Manchester airports which is a tacit acceptance that CWL can only ever really be the national airport for south and mid-Wales.

In one of the evidence-taking sessions of the Welsh Affairs Committee's probe into APD devolution a senior civil servant from the WG's Economy and Transport department emphasised growing rail links to the north-west England airports when asked by a North Wales MP what that part of the country would gain.

If most of the proposals come to fruition in future years it will improve connectivity within Wales and with England to a significant degree.

 

[Jerry]

How the South Wales Metro rail project could be a dealt a huge funding blow

The UK Government needs to move quickly on transferring the rail asset to Cardiff Bay

www.business-live.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

New buses for the T9 Cardiff Airport Express!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1221749848854147073

 

[Jerry]

The last 2 days i've been to the airport to do some planespotting and i've noticed now that the signs no longer point you along Port road via Barry but onto the A48 and then onto the upgraded Five mile lane. Although i'm not sure if it was any quicker i did feel that route was better as i wasn't constantly stopping at lights and roundabouts.

 

[Jerry]

The T9 has been suspended

https://twitter.com/x/status/1245366579233271810

 

[Foxlimayankee]

About time too! Its quiet enough when flights are running. Flights reduced about a week ago so the buses should've been cut then to match the arrivals and departures.