(Title Image: Transport Commission for South East Wales, Crown Copyright)
The final report and recommendations of the Burns Commission – established to consider alternatives to the M4 Newport bypass after it was cancelled in June 2019 – were published last week (pdf), and placed a heavy focus on public transport-based measures.
The headline recommendations include:
- Six new railway stations to be built in the Newport area using reconfigured relief/slow lines on the south Wales mainline. The proposed new stations include: Newport Road (Cardiff), Cardiff Parkway (St Mellons), Newport West (Tredegar Park – pictured), Newport East (Somerton), Llanwern and Magor.
- Additional improvements to the rail network outside the immediate area, including a passing loop on the Maesteg line, increased turnaround capacity at Bridgend and upgrades to the Ebbw Vale line.
- A fully integrated bus rapid transit system for Cardiff and Newport linking areas away from the rail network. This would include a “hub and spoke” system of bus and walking/cycling routes in Newport itself, an improved bus-rail interchange at the renamed Newport Central station, a Newport cycle hire scheme as well as a commuter cycle route along the A48 between Newport and Cardiff.
- A new zonal fare system with integrated ticketing.
- Workplace travel planning for major employers and consideration of a workplace parking space levy.
- Planning new developments in the region around public transport instead of the motorway network.
- A corporate joint committee for local authorities in the south-east (based, presumably, on the Local Government & Elections Act) to manage the regional transport network.
It’s estimated the entire programme of measures would cost between £600-800million in upfront capital costs and up to £35million in ongoing annual revenue costs. The Commission says the entire programme would take up to 10 years to complete. At the point of its cancellation, the Newport bypass was costed at £1.6billion.
Although the report acknowledges the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on future travel behaviour, they didn’t believe it would alter the need for a rethink of public transport in the area.
