THE NEW depot for Stadler Citylink light rail vehicles in South Wales will include an extension to Taff’s Well station car park, utilising a deck above seven of the stabling roads.
The Welsh Government will invest £100 million in the new depot, due to open in 2022 when the lines from Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay are electrified for 25kV light rail operation. A fleet of 36x3-car Citylink units will be ordered. The new depot will provide space for stabling 25 of the 50-metre units. The existing stabling roads at Treherbert will be enhanced.
The government has acquired land for the depot at Garth Works Industrial Estate in Taff’s Well, including the former South Wales Forgemasters building. The site, including the adjacent station, covers 5.4 hectares. There will be two tracks into the depot from the north and one from the south. A new crossover north of the station will enable units to leave the depot and proceed towards Pontypridd.
The existing station car park will be reduced from 93 spaces to 84. The overflow car park will increase from the present 55 to 94. The deck for the new overflow car park will also include a maximum of 120 spaces for depot staff and visitors.
The Up station platform (for northbound trains) will be extended northwards, with its southern end removed. The Down and Up platform ends will then be opposite each other. The present footbridge will be replaced by a new bridge with stairs and lifts. The station approach road will pass over the tracks leading into the depot, before descending to provide access to the ground-level station car park at the northern end of the station. Access to the overflow car park will be east of the new footbridge.
The depot will include 3,770 square metres of workshop floor space for rolling stock maintenance, with offices above and separate storage buildings. A train washing facility, sand replenishment plant and electricity substation will be installed. No toilet emptying facilities are required, since the Citylink vehicles will not include toilets. More and better station toilets have been promised, and the last services of the day will have scheduled toilet stops at stations midway along their routes.
Construction is planned in four phases, starting with clearance of the industrial buildings next year. The depot will be the base for 400 train crew and 35 rolling stock maintenance staff. A further 52 people will work in the South Wales Metro integrated control centre, on the same site.
Two other new fleets for local services will be maintained at the existing Cardiff Canton depot, where some tracks will be electrified. The 24 Stadler Flirt tri-mode units, in three-car and four-car sets, will be deployed from 2023 on the Rhymney, Coryton, Penarth and Vale of Glamorgan (Cardiff-Bridgend via Barry) lines. Other local services will be operated by 11x4-car Stadler Flirt DEMUs.
