South Wales Metro rail delays and cost: Natasha Asghar raises concerns

The South Wales Metro project is one of two massive public transport scheme launched by Mark Drakeford's government as part of its environmental strategy, which is focused on a "modal shift" from cars to buses, trains, cycling and walking.

The backbone of the Metro project is an overhaul of the railway system, including the construction of several new stations in and around the Newport area.

The government's plan was backed in 2021 by Lord Terry Burns, whose transport commission recommended radical investment in train travel as the best alternative to the M4 relief road around the city.

But following reports the Metro scheme had been hit by delays, one Senedd member from the area called for clarity on the project's costs and timeframe.

Railway journeys in the Gwent area have been affected intermittently by closures while Network Rail and partner organisations develop the Metro system.

Natasha Asghar, a Conservative member of the Senedd for South Wales East, said "one of the main aims of the South Wales Metro project is to encourage people off the roads and, naturally, to use public transport".

But "further delays", she said, had put in danger the original completion date of 2023.

She cited the chief executive of Transport for Wales as saying previously the Metro "would be delayed by months, not years, as a result of the pandemic, with the completion date remaining as 2023".

But last month, Ms Asghar added, fresh delays "have been confirmed to upgrades, with the 'majority' of the work being finished in 2024, with no date for full completion of the project being given".

She also quoted Transport for Wales as saying the cost of the Metro project "was likely to be significantly over its £734 million budget".

Natasha Asghar, a Conservative Party member of the Senedd for South Wales East.

Ms Asghar called on the Welsh Government to announce when the Metro "will finally be completed and... the latest estimate of the total cost of the Welsh Government's flagship project to get people off the roads and to finally use public transport".

The Argus asked the Welsh Government for the projected completion date of the Metro scheme in Gwent, where the Ebbw Vale line is being upgraded.

A spokesperson for the government did not provide a date, but did say: “As part of the longer-term development of the South Wales Metro, we want to see six new railway stations open on the South Wales Main Line, more rail and bus services forming a single, integrated network, segregated commuter cycleways in and between Newport and Cardiff and better provision for pedestrians, especially to access rail and bus stations.

"With this ‘network of alternatives’ in place, everyone in South East Wales will be empowered to travel more sustainably and to play a part in tackling climate change."