Cardiff Parkway Station Project Set for Major UK Government Funding Boost
The planned £180m Cardiff Parkway train station at St Mellons in Cardiff is anticipated to receive a substantial funding boost from the UK Government. This project, which secured planning permission from the Welsh Government last year, is part of a broader rail infrastructure expansion in Wales.
Integrated Business Park and Job Creation
The station will be integrated into a business park that, over the long term, could see around 900,000 square feet of new employment space developed. This has the potential to support thousands of new jobs, making it a significant economic driver for the region.
This funding is expected to be in addition to the £445m announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her three-year spending review last summer for rail enhancement projects in Wales, which takes effect from April. The Chancellor has previously referenced the Parkway project in her Budget and at the Welsh Government’s Investment Summit, though without a firm commitment until now.
Transport for Wales Vision Document
The Parkway announcement is likely to be confirmed alongside the publication of Transport for Wales' new vision document, endorsed by the Wales Rail Board. This document will outline a pipeline of rail enhancement projects seeking further UK Government funding.
Although initially expected later this week, the vision document has been delayed by a few weeks. It will include projects such as removing level crossings to speed up train times on the North Wales Mainline, increasing services from Wrexham to Liverpool, and further phases of the South Wales Metro, where the £1.1bn electrification of the Core Valley Lines is nearing completion.
Serving Deprived Communities
The station is designed to serve some of the most deprived communities in Cardiff and across Wales, including Trowbridge, Rhymney, Llanrumney, and St Mellons. This aims to improve connectivity and access to opportunities for these areas.
Due to delays in the Welsh Government's planning decision, the cost of the train station element and required rail corridor investment has increased from initial projections. Final design work and confirmation of the number of trains that could call at the station are still required.
Funding and Infrastructure Details
The funding required for the train station and related road and utility infrastructure to serve the business park is around £180m. Transport for Wales would take a long lease to run the station, with upfront capital provided through a privately funded securitisation deal against future rents. TfW's leasing costs would be covered by increased rail ticket sales and car parking income.
More detailed work is needed to assess the number of trains that could stop at the station, which would impact car parking offset income. For the business park element, as the site is included in the Cardiff and Newport UK Government-backed investment zone, some infrastructure could be financed through tax increment financing, allowing borrowing against future business rates.
Potential Ownership Models
A simpler funding model could involve Network Rail taking over ownership of the station, or Transport for Wales doing so as a devolved asset. This would allow Cardiff Parkway Developments to focus on attracting investment into the integrated business park.
There is already strong interest from engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which has appraised the site positively for a potential new hub investment that could create thousands of high-skilled jobs. The company values the planned business park due to its own train station, access to a skilled workforce, proximity to nine universities in south Wales and the west of England, and the security of a 200-acre site with close rail links to Cardiff and Bristol.
Broader Rail Funding Context
Of the £445m announced last year for rail enhancement projects, £90m is allocated for development work to build cases for further investment, and £77.87m from the Department for Transport is for upgrading Cardiff Central Station. The remainder will be funded by the Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region, leaving around £300m from the spending review allocation for Wales.
Other projects, such as the Burns stations between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel, have estimated costs of around £70m each, indicating insufficient funding to deliver all planned initiatives. TfW chairman Vernon Everitt recently stated that the current £445m envelope for rail projects in Wales needs to be significantly expanded.
An announcement on Parkway would be a positive step, but further funding commitments from the UK Government will be necessary to fully realize this and other rail enhancement projects in Wales.
