Just as was planned/installed by NR under CAGR. But Welsh Government had to have its own train set to play with.
Wrong. 'CASR' ('Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal' project) allowed for
up to 16tph through Queen St, but with heavy rail DMUs and the persistent bottleneck of the 2 track Newport Rd bridge north of Queen St, it was unlikely that would ever have been achieved.
The current TfW plans are for 20tph to run to and from the Valleys, which is 18tph through Queen St and 2 tph going via the City line.
Did the Sennedd/Welsh Gov call for work to be stopped on the redoubling of part of the Ebbw Vale line around 2015?
Welsh Govt put a halt to the re-doubling work on the Ebbw Vale line because within months NR had blown the agreed budget. Bare in mind this coincided with the ballooning costs on GWML electrification at the time, Welsh Govt were right to be sceptical of NR's ability to manage and deliver a project to within an agreed budget.
Remember that Welsh Govt get no Barnett consequential funding from Westminster for rail infrastructure in Wales, as Scotland and Northern Ireland do. If Welsh Govt want a rail infrastructure enhancement project delivered that Westminster refuses to fund (as was the case with the initial Ebbw Vale line re-opening and the subsequent re-doubling scheme) the funding has to come out of Welsh Govt's budget from other devolved areas, such as health or education. WG cannot therefore justify taking money from the Welsh NHS or schools budget to throw at NR to get a scheme completed if NR cannot control costs.