A Welsh Assembly member has called for the £30M Ebbw Vale railway to have its line extended, given passenger numbers doubled expectations in the first six months.

Implemented by Blaenau Gwent Council, the Ebbw railway was reopened after 46 years in February as a rail link between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale. But Blaenau Gwent’s Trish Law, believes an opportunity was lost in the construction period because just three miles of double track was provided instead of nine.

This means any additional services over the line will cost significantly more, as work will take place on a live railway with safety measures to consider.

With the first six months of service seeing 44,000 passengers a month travelling on the line – double the forecasted 22,000 – Law argues that the number of people who would be using the route was originally underestimated and, as such, the line under-funded. The decision not to include a link to Newport during initial construction has also been criticised.

The Welsh Assembly Government has now asked Network Rail to carry out a feasibility study on options for running a service between Ebbw Vale and Newport.

Blaenau Gwent council leader, Cllr Des Hillman, said: ‘Together with our partners at Caerphilly and Newport councils, we have been promoting further development of the railway from the start.

‘These phase two developments include a link to the city centre of Newport and extending the line to the former Steelworks site in Ebbw Vale.’

Cardiff City Council said the new railway line had ‘opened up key areas of the region, offering good accessibility, particularly to people without cars, to the capital city.’