A GIANT new car park intended to boost rail travel in Torfaen has finally opened to the public.
The £7.1 million park and ride, with 140 parking spaces, at Pontypool and New Inn railway station opened on Friday, February 28 meaning it was brought into use one day short of three years to the month since construction started.
The work has also included installation of a new footbridge and lifts suitable for wheelchairs and bikes with the project one of the first to be completed as part of the Cardiff Capital Region Metro Plus scheme to create a £50m South Wales Metro system.
In December Torfaen Borough Council, which has been responsible for the project, said it was hoped the much-delayed opening would be in January but when that came and went it said it was still waiting for the go-ahead to bring the vast car park into use.
The Office of Rail and Road finally authorised the facility during the last week of February allowing it to enter service.
Work appeared to have been completed in autumn 2023, although it was originally intended the car park would have opened that summer.
In December 2023 councillors in neighbouring Monmouthshire, keen to see the car park brought into use, were told it was unlikely to open until the middle of 2024 as permissions weren’t in place.
The new car park has been built beside the A4042, with a dedicated access road, and means drivers can access the station directly from the busy trunk road rather than having to drive through New Inn.
It’s hoped the location will entice more commuters to use the train, taking the strain off the road network, and increased demand could lead to more services on the mainline.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the station at lunchtime on Monday, March 3 there were only six cars in the car park, leaving 123 general spaces vacant and ready for use. All 11 designated disabled parking bays were also empty while no cyclists or motorcyclist had made use of the secure cycle storage and motorbike spaces.
A small amount of rubbish, mostly from the nearby McDonald’s, discarded in the rubbish bags were evidence of some use of the station.
One would be passenger, a care worker who only gave her name as Rebecca, was aware the car park had “taken ages” to open but was more concerned her train, to Cwmbran, was cancelled at short notice. A platform announcement said it was due to a “fault” on the train.
Ian Brown, from Norwich, had unwittingly become one of the first passengers to use the dedicated taxi pick-up points when he arrived at the station on Friday.
“There was a bit of confusion as the taxi driver came to this side of the station (the New Inn entrance) but it was okay when he realised,” said Mr Brown whose return journey was disrupted due to the cancelled train forcing him to call a taxi to meet his connection in Newport.
While there was no shortage of places to park in the new car park there were few spots available at the New Inn entrance, with more than 20 cars parked, and taxi driver Muhammad Javid was waiting for a fare. He said the station can be busy with passengers making short journeys.
Planned electric vehicle charging spaces aren’t in use yet and other enhancements include improved seating areas, CCTV and lighting and new customer information systems and a help point.
The project has been funded by Cardiff Capital Region, the Welsh Government and Torfaen council.
Other Metro Plus schemes include Caerphilly Interchange, Merthyr Tydfil Interchange and Porth Transport Interchange.