Cardiff Council has welcomed the news that the Government is to press ahead with the electrification of the Great Western Mainline by 2017.
The announcement was made yesterday by Secretary of State Philip Hammond and follows strong lobbying from Cardiff Council leader Rodney Berman, along with the leaders of Bristol and Swindon councils, for electrification and the economic benefits it will bring to the Great Western Corridor.
As part of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review the Great Western Main Line between London and Cardiff will be electrified, a decision that has been welcomed as being vital to the economy in South Wales and South West England.
Cardiff Council Leader Rodney Berman said: “For some time now I have been urging the Government to press ahead with electrifying the existing Great Western Main Line between London and Cardiff so today’s announcement is really good news, not only for Cardiff but the Great Western Corridor.
“Electrification will reduce existing journey times from Cardiff to London by 20 minutes and play an important part in the future growth of the economy in South Wales. Good transport links are absolutely essential for our cities and regions to build our economic competitiveness.
“The new electrified lines will also allow for a state-of-the-art High Speed Rail system to be introduced at some point in the future running from London to South West England and South Wales as part of a UK HSR network.
“The Great Western Partnership was instigated by Cardiff Council, along with other key partners, in June 2009 in response to the High Speed Rail agenda and the work it has done in lobbying for electrification has now borne fruit. Today’s decision has followed a lot of effort stressing the benefits electrification will bring and I would like to thank all the members of the Great Western Partnership as well as other businesses and organisations who have helped us lobby the Government on this issue and get our message across. Today we are seeing the dividends of that hard work.”
He added: ”I recognise that there may be some disappointment that electrification will not extend further west. However this is a positive first step to deliver a 21st Century rail network serving the South West area.”
Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke said: “Bristol is one of the UK’s best placed cities to create jobs and drive economic recovery, and investment in good transport links is crucial to maintaining this. This is why today’s electrification announcement is vital for the whole of the West and Wales and recognition by the Government of the region’s importance to the national economy.
“The three cities of Cardiff, Swindon and Bristol have lobbied hard to make this case, and I look forward to building on these links with much closer collaboration on economic issues in the future.”
Councillor Roderick Bluh, the Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “This is really excellent news and I’m very pleased the government has listened to our arguments. It is something that will have a very positive effect on Swindon and the whole region. We know that one of the key ways to improve economic development is to improve transport links.”
