Its ten years since Welsh Government bought Cardiff Airport…leading again to a polarised debate. In another shorter than usual article I want to try and unpack some of the issues and choices …and my views have been shaped by experts in the field of aviation (they know who they are!). So, do we stick or … Continue reading Cardiff Airport…stick or twist?…and Severnside!
Author: @swalesmetroprof
Professor of Practice in Connectivity at Cardiff University's School of Geography and Planning. Conceived & been working on The South Wales Metro since 2010...also KOd some thinking re Swansea Bay Metro and Cardiff Crossrail!
Free bus fares….or not?
I cover these details in a chapter on Transport Planning in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... We often hear calls for free or heavily subsidised public transport; we have free access to health care after all, so why not public transport? … Continue reading Free bus fares….or not?
Greenways for Cardiff?
I’ve written a little before about the ideas of Greenways – and mainly in relation to the potential future treatment of the corridor from the city centre to the bay along Bute St and Lloyd George Avenue following the tramway upgrade of the bay line in Butetown[i]. Greenways typically enable the introduction of liner parks … Continue reading Greenways for Cardiff?
Political, Economic & Environmental Hopes for 2023/4…
PS Still relevant in 2024.... I shared some Metro themed Hopes and Moans in two related blogs yesterday (1st Jan 2023). Here I want to quickly share some broader political, economic and environmental hopes (mostly naïve I suspect) that I hold for 2023 and beyond (with links and references to some of my blogs over … Continue reading Political, Economic & Environmental Hopes for 2023/4…
Metro Hopes for 2023…
I include an update of the future of Metros in Wales in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... I’m normally pretty positive and optimistic…and have talked and written about Metros in Wales in such a manner, even with some small measure of … Continue reading Metro Hopes for 2023…
Metro Moans for 2023…
I include an update of the future of Metros in Wales in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... (PS still relevant in 2024....) Single track Coryton line limiting service frequency to an inappropriate 2tph I’m normally pretty positive and optimistic…and have talked … Continue reading Metro Moans for 2023…
To Rome and back by train…
We have just arrived back from a 10-day return trip to Rome by train via Paris, Geneva, Strasbourg and Milan with overnight stops in Basel and Lyon. Apart from the salami incident in Geneva (see later) and a bus-rail replacement on the Geneva-Lyon section the same day, it all worked pretty well. I also learned … Continue reading To Rome and back by train…
Sex, gender, equality and compromises…
This blog is a departure for me, prompted by the recent phenomenon of the inability of some politicians to answer an apparently simple question, “What is a woman?”; a question that for years I never expected would one day generate so much and often ill-considered, debate. It’s also a question that seems to me, is … Continue reading Sex, gender, equality and compromises…
200 to 1: English Rail Investment V Wales Rail Investment !
I include an updated chapter on the rail industry and funding in Wales in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... PS October 2023. Given PMs announcement cancelling HS2 north of Birmingham and a suggestion of £1Bn for OLE on the NWML I … Continue reading 200 to 1: English Rail Investment V Wales Rail Investment !
Do you believe in Metro?
I include an update of the future of Metros in Wales in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... In January 2021 a headline appeared in the Western Mail[i], attributed to me, “South Wales Metro hampered by public disbelief as expert claims 'even … Continue reading Do you believe in Metro?
North-South Rail(& bus) in Wales!
I include an update of this article in my book (from late Oct 2024), "How to build a Metro". So please head over and take a look.... There has and continues to be much debate and discussion re: strategic north south connectivity in Wales; road, rail and air. It is a bottomless pit of views, … Continue reading North-South Rail(& bus) in Wales!
Mark Barry, May 2022: Submission to Senedd Climate Change Committee
This is a version of my submission to the Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, in May 2022 as part of their review of bus and rail transport in Wales . The transcript is here. To note: the views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of Mark Barry and no other person … Continue reading Mark Barry, May 2022: Submission to Senedd Climate Change Committee
UK Government Cock Ups, Wales, Zen and The Art of Independence…
Whilst a student in Manchester in the 1980s, studying the Philosophy of Science (as part of my Physics degree) I read Robert Pirsig’s famous work, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. I’ll probably summarise this very poorly, but in his book, Pirsig explored, two world views which he manifests in his characters. One world view … Continue reading UK Government Cock Ups, Wales, Zen and The Art of Independence…
Wales’ Metros – Update Feb 2022
A summary of this blog appeared in the Business Section of the Western Mail in March 2022 There has been some recent coverage in the media and some social media chatter about Wales’ Metro projects, their status and what they might deliver. Given my involvement in all of them – Cardiff/South Wales since 2010 and … Continue reading Wales’ Metros – Update Feb 2022
GBR – WISP Consultation. My response…Jan 2022
The nascent Great British Railways and their transition team are/will be responsible for the new "Whole Industry Strategic Plan". They are are currently consulting on that and have a call for evidence open until Feb 2022. I submitted my response to that "call for evidence" which is as set out below... PS I also submitted … Continue reading GBR – WISP Consultation. My response…Jan 2022