It seems that Welsh Govt & TfW want to take Ebbw Vale off Network Rail as well........
https://www.transportxtra.com/publi...nment-reduces-nr-srole-in-rail-line-upgrading
Welsh Government reduces NR’s role in rail line upgrading
RAIL
Rhodri Clark
11 May 2018
The Welsh Government is to reduce Network Rail’s role in the troubled upgrade of the Ebbw Vale line in South Wales. The upgrade will now be delivered with the help of the winning bidder for the 15-year Wales and Borders franchise operator and development partner (ODP), who is due to be announced this month.
The Government has already taken the unprecedented step of negotiating the removal of the Core Valley Lines (the rail branches north of Cardiff) from Network Rail’s hands because the Welsh Government has no confidence in NR’s ability to electrify and enhance the infrastructure within the budget available. The upgrade of these lines will be overseen by the ODP.
The Ebbw Vale line further east, and served by trains to/from Cardiff, will remain in Network Rail’s ownership.
The Welsh Government funded the line’s reopening in 2008 but capacity is limited to an hourly four-car train. In 2015 the Government allocated £38m to a scheme that would install seven miles of second track to enable a half-hourly service frequency.
The project has been beset with problems. Network Rail quickly spent £28m of the budget before stopping work, with the most complex tasks – including signalling alterations, bridge reconstruction and new station platforms and access – still outstanding (LTT 16 Feb).
Explaining the way forward to an Assembly committee, Nathan Barnhouse, the Government’s rail programme director, said: “To achieve four services an hour on the Ebbw line requires a significant investment, and, if that’s delivered through Network Rail solely, it exposes us to substantial cost risks.
“What we’re doing is bringing the ODP into the development proposal, so that they can incorporate a four-services-an-hour pattern on the Ebbw line in the future at a more realistic and value for money cost for us.”
Asked about the timescale, transport secretary Ken Skates said: “I can’t answer this because, if I do, it will reveal the technical solution that’s going to be utilised on that particular line.”
Transport for Wales chief executive James Price said: “In the current financial year, we will be remitted by the Welsh Government to explore how we can improve the Maesteg and Ebbw lines, but the fundamental issue that we need to get over here is that those two lines are still held by the UK Government, still held by Network Rail. Therefore, Network Rail and the UK Government are controlling what we can and cannot do.”
He said the UK Government’s cancellation of Cardiff to Swansea electrification “causes us some problems” in relation to the Maesteg line, which branches off the South Wales Main Line at Bridgend.
Although the ODP contract award is imminent, Skates said he was still awaiting “a proposition on the proposed funding arrangements” for the franchise from the UK Government. Asked about a dispute over £1bn in track access charges, publicly aired last summer, Skates replied: “I’m pleased to say that we’ve made excellent progress on that particular issue, and I am very hopeful of a very positive outcome in the coming weeks.”
Price said the ODP contract would refer to a “design and discovery phase”, because issues such as the types of electrification and signalling required would be determined by the winning bidder’s technical solution. “We need to look at the asset through the lens of how we’re going to run it in the future, and we’ve got 18 months to do that before we finally take the asset.”
Skates said the UK Government would have an ongoing role, through an agency agreement, in management of the franchise’s cross-border services.
In return, he wants the Welsh Government to have a say in franchises operating into Wales, such as Great Western.
“I’m seeking reciprocal agreements with the UK Government on those franchises that they are responsible for but which also have components operating in Wales,” he said. “We are looking at a collaboration and co-operation agreement that would see us be able to influence and check the effectiveness and delivery of those franchise operations.”
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Can someone please explain this comment to me:
Asked about the timescale, transport secretary Ken Skates said: “I can’t answer this because, if I do, it will reveal the technical solution that’s going to be utilised on that particular line.”
What on earth does he mean by
'technical solution'? Is he trying to get trams up to Ebbw Vale as well? Let's just turn the whole of South Wales into a tramway!