My quick reflections on the potential redundancies announced at Cardiff University and more broadly the role of Higher Education in our economy.
Welsh Rail Funding – Ministerial Correspondence December 2024
My December 2024 letter to Transport Minister Heidi Alexander re: lack of UK Government rail enhancement investment in Wales.
Pontypridd – the Heart of The Valleys
We can't stop once we have delivered the £1Bn South Wales Metro. To enable its wider benefits, we now need a Metro Economic Development and Regeneration Programme for Pontypridd and the Central Valleys.
Cardiff Crossrail Phase 2
Cardiff Crossrail Phase 2 is essential for the economy of the city & wider region. It will address the gaps in the current Metro Programme in Cardiff, and provide the foundation for the full Crossrail that has the biggest mode shift and economic impact potential of any scheme in Wales
Metro and other hopes for 2025…
Metro and other hopes (Crossrail, SWML, Brexit, PR, Severn Barrage, etc...) for 2025
Why the UKs City Regions need Metros…
....and why it's not happening fast or big enough! A version of this article appeared in the November 2024 edition of Rail Technology Magazine. I presented at Connected Places Catapult event in Leeds in November on this subject and will also present at the UK 2025 Rail Summit, so this is a timely blog. It’s … Continue reading Why the UKs City Regions need Metros…
How to build a Metro…
It’s now fifteen years since I first set out my ideas for a Cardiff Capital Region Metro (or South Wales Metro) and just over 13 since my report, “A Metro for Wales Capital City Region” was published with the Cardiff Business Partnership and Institute of Welsh Affairs. It was in Autumn 2015 that FM Carwyn … Continue reading How to build a Metro…
Cardiff West Junction…
I cover many of the issues raised below and wider schemes Wales, in my book "How to build a Metro" This is a copy of an email I sent to UK and WG Ministers in July 2024 on the subject of "Cardiff West Junction" - a piece of essential rail infrastructure in Cardiff which has … Continue reading Cardiff West Junction…
Hulme Stories…
I have a November 2024 PS to this blog (see below at the end of this blog). I just received an email (added below) from Ade Fellows (who I didn't remember - as is sadly the case for many given its nearly 40 years ago! ). As it turns out Ade lived in Hulme at … Continue reading Hulme Stories…
Cardiff Parkway…
July 2024 I cover some of these issues and wider opportunities re Metro in the Cardiff Capital Region in my book, "How to build a Metro", published on October 2024. This station should have happened already! PS Autumn/Summer 2025 - Planning issues removed and UK Gov via CSR have committed some funds (not enough yet) … Continue reading Cardiff Parkway…
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) #3
From Illustration of “TOD” from Institute of Transportation and Development Policy This is a slightly longer version of an article published by Wales Centre for Public Policy in June 2024. It is also, in effect, a summary of one of the chapters of my book on the South Wales Metro published in October 2024. Pls … Continue reading Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) #3
Welsh Independence…no, not like North Korea (or even Brexit!)
Independence - No not like North Korea, or Brexit for that matter... I think the debate on independence in Wales, and constitutional reform more broadly, is more often than not confused because many, even most of us, are not clear what we mean by independence; and those opposed to the idea often equate it with the most … Continue reading Welsh Independence…no, not like North Korea (or even Brexit!)
To Casperia and back by train…
In 2022 my wife and I travelled to Casperia and back by train (to La Torretta which my aunt/uncle/cousins have run since about 2000). I documented that trip here To Rome and back by train… – Mark Barry (swalesmetroprof.blog). We have just repeated that trip in April 2024 to mark something of a semi-retirement for … Continue reading To Casperia and back by train…
Metro, subsidies & Cardiff… Some tough choices and compromises?
PS November 2024. I covered and updated some of these details in my book, "How to build a Metro". Take a look! PS Feb 2025: I published a blog "My suggestions for WG and TfW Board" in Feb 2025, which covers some of the points set out below Despite the naysaying and the covid induced … Continue reading Metro, subsidies & Cardiff… Some tough choices and compromises?
There must be an election coming up…
On February 13th, 2024, Sarah Atherton MP published a piece in the Wrexham Leader criticising a number of Welsh Government decisions and/or implications thereof of as regards transport. 'Plan for increased use of public transport is fundamentally flawed' | The Leader (leaderlive.co.uk) Whilst I have no problem with an honest and reasoned critique, most of … Continue reading There must be an election coming up…