New rail station for Deeside takes further step forward

The Welsh Government has selected four potential new railway stations to go forward for further detailed study.

46 potential sites for new stations were taken into consideration,  12 were selected and taken forward to a second stage.

Now just four stations will be taken to the third stage of the process including Deeside Parkway on the industrial park.

The​ Wrexham-Bidston Rail Users’ Association has long made the case for the introduction of a new station on the route adjacent to the Deeside Industrial Park and the A548.

This new station would enable employees to get to the Deeside Industrial Park by train and at the same time provide easy access from the network of dual carriageways to park and ride facilities for rail services to Birkenhead, Liverpool, Wrexham and beyond.

Ely Mill (Cardiff), St Clears (Carmarthenshire), and Carno (Powys) are the other three to be considered.

Eight stations failed to make it through to the next round, including Llanwern (Newport), Llangefni (Anglesey) and Cockett (Swansea).

The Welsh Government isn’t responsible for the delivery of new railway infrastructure but it can suggest new stations to the UK Government.

In July, the UK Government announced a £58million investment at Cardiff Central station which will result in longer platforms, improved access and reduced congestion during major events in the city centre.

The UK Government also announced that a new parkway station (aka. Swansea Parkway) will be constructed on the Swansea District Line, which could cut Cardiff-Swansea journey times by 14 minutes.

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