Swansea needs light rail to attract motorists out of their cars, because the city centre’s southward migration is marginalising heavy rail, says an influential academic.
The next development south of the traditional city centre will see a ‘European-style boulevard’ replace the dual carriageway which currently separates the maritime quarter from the centre. Works covered by the £38m funding package will include footpaths, cycleways, street furniture and other public-realm enhancements.
Swansea council leader, Chris Holley, said: ‘It’s been our ambition for many years to improve connections between the city centre and waterfront, and I’m delighted this investment will help us achieve that.’
An £11m transport interchange is under construction nearby – at the former Quadrant bus station – in a separate project.
Swansea rail station, once in the city centre, has become increasingly peripheral over recent decades as shopping centres and offices have materialised further south. Local government investment in 1994 to create a significant local rail service failed because of the station’s poor location, while trains to well-sited Cardiff Central flourished on comparable investment. To achieve modal shift, Swansea council has focused on bus improvements, including the £11m infrastructure for the new Metro service.
However, Prof Stuart Cole, of the Wales Transport Research Centre, said many middle-class motorists would not switch to public transport unless a convenient rail alternative was provided.
Light rail would be cheaper than extending heavy-rail into the centre, and could utilise the Metro infrastructure and rail routes now used for freight trains and a cycleway to the east and west.
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