Up to £600m is to be spent on a new metro for south east Wales within five years, it has been announced.
It is likely to be a mix of light rail, trams, improved trains and faster buses by 2020 in Cardiff and the valleys. It is in addition to planned rail electrification and will run as a “not-for-dividend” part of the next all-Wales rail franchise from 2018.
Edwina Hart, the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport said it could be „chaos” on roads unless the issue of transport infrastructure is sorted out.
The minister has tasked rail and business experts to finalise plans before work starts in 2017.
Chris Gibb, one of the newly-appointed advisers to the project, said the Welsh government had some challenging decisions to make.
He said a tram-train hybrid – with both running on the same type of tracks – could be one of the answers and examples of urban networks such as the one in Lyon, France, need to be looked at.
The £600m will involve £125m promised from the Department of Transport, £150 in European regional development funding.
Source and photo: http://www.bbc.com
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