The UK’s second fleet of tram-trains will soon have a home to call their own with work having now commenced on building a depot at Taff’s Well in Cardiff. 36 Citylink tram-trains are on order from Stadler for use on the South Wales Metro with delivery set to begin in 2022.
The tram-trains will be utilised on the new South Wales Metro which will operate from Cardiff to Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil with plans for services to run on the streets of Cardiff also being developed, although not yet fully confirmed.
The depot is costing £100 million to construct with a modern maintenance facility provided to service the new fleet of Citylink tram-trains. There will also be a control centre overseeing the operations, including signalling and train movements, constructed on the site.
Ken Stakes, Minister for Economy and Transport, commented at an event to mark the start of construction: “This is yet another major development in Transport for Wales’ plans to deliver the South Wales Metro for the people of South East Wales. At the start of this month we opened the Treforest Metro Infrastructure Hub, further up the valley, which will be the heart of transformation works and here today, we mark the start of the building of a new depot, from which the Metro will be operated. The South Wales Metro is an investment of three quarters of a billion pounds and this £100 million depot is a major part of that. It will act as a home for our brand-new Metro Vehicles, where servicing and maintenance will take place and the control centre will oversee running operations. Transport is being transformed in Wales and it’s great to see more real examples of progress.”
The new site will be the base for around 400 train crew, 35 train maintenance staff and 52 control centre staff.