How the M4 relief road alternatives are progressing

The South East Wales Transport Commission, led by Lord Terry Burns, published its full report recommending alternatives to the relief road project in November 2020, which focused on the need for “substantial improvement to the city's current public transport network”.

These included building new railway stations in and around Newport, and improving and expanding the available bus services, and improving cycling and walking routes across the region.

Transport for Wales’ Burns Delivery Unit was set up to implement the commission’s recommendations.

Professor Simon Gibson CBE and Dr Lynn Sloman MBE, the chairman and vice-chairwoman of the Burns Delivery Unit, said: “We are encouraged by several projects promoting active travel across the region that started to be rolled out during 2022.

Professor Simon Gibson CBE and Dr Lynn Sloman MBE. (Image: Burns Delivery Unit)

“Good examples are the two safe cycle parking hubs now open in Cardiff and Newport City Centres, providing cyclists with peace of mind when bringing their bicycles into the city centres.

“By 2029 we want to see six new railway stations on the South Wales Mainline; more rail and bus services forming a single, integrated network; segregated commuter cycleways within and between Newport and Cardiff and better provision for pedestrians, especially to access rail and bus stations.

“With this new ‘network of alternatives’ in place and with better land use planning, everyone in south east Wales will be able to travel more sustainably and play a part in reducing the impacts of climate change.”

So what progress has the Burns Delivery Unit made in the past year?

New railway stations

Ministers in Wales have endorsed plans to create six new railway stations in south east Wales, as recommended in the Burns Report.

Plans for the six new stations between Cardiff and England. (Image: Burns Delivery Unit)

The Burns Delivery Unit’s annual report said it received £2.7 million of Department for Transport funding that was being used “to progress the technical studies needed for rail timetabling, station feasibility designs and an outline business case” – which would be completed in 2023.

The proposed stations detailed on the map are Newport Road, Cardiff Parkway, Newport West, Newport East, Llanwern and Magor - although plans for Cardiff Parkway have themselves been hit by delays in the recent past.

An artist's impression of the proposed Cardiff Parkway railway station. (Image: Wilkinson Eyre)

But while money has been earmarked for the feasibility study, the funding of the new stations has not yet been settled, with the Burns Delivery Unit saying the full project would need “significant capital investment”.

A48 bus and cycling routes between Cardiff and Newport

Three options were put on the table for adapting a four-mile stretch of dual carriageway between Tredegar Park and St Mellons last February, and a public consultation was launched.

Artist's impressions of the proposals to transform a section of the A48 between Newport and Cardiff. (Image: Burns Delivery Unit)

But nearly one year on from that consultation closing, the findings are yet to be made public.

“A public consultation in February-March 2022 received more than 1,700 responses and showed support for one A48 option and strong support for all three NCN88 options,” the report read.

NCN88 is a cycling route which runs near the A48 and is also part of the proposals to redevelop links between Newport and Cardiff.

The report stated that it had also been agreed that “more ambitious proposals for high quality bus services are needed”, and these would be “shared with the public in 2023, after which the board will select a preferred option”.

Newport city centre

The biggest development on the plans for Newport city centre since the commission’s last update is the plans announced for the transformation of the Old Green roundabout.

Proposals to make sustainable travel improvements to the roundabout were unveiled in February, with the commission adding that further development work had now been completed.

How the Old Green Roundabout could look. (Image: Transport for Wales)

A six-week public consultation on the proposals – and the fate of the murals – is currently underway until April 6, and the report states that a preferred option on the plans will be chosen “in 2023”.

The other major city centre project is yet to be completed.

The latest view of the footbridge at Newport railway station. (Image: Robert S Nurden)

Last summer, Newport council said the Devon Place footbridge – the walkway of which was installed over Christmas 2021 – at Newport railway station would be completed by the end of the year.

This was subsequently pushed back until “early 2023”, but when the Argus asked the council at the end of February, there was no update on when it would open to the public.

Walking and cycling

As part of plans to develop walking and cycling infrastructure across south east Wales, a bike storage hub was opened in Newport city centre in November.

Mark Seymour at Newport Cycle Hub. (Image: Newsquest)

“We all know the benefits of cycling to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing,” said Mark Seymour, of Newport Cycle Hub.

“The risk of having your bike stolen has been a barrier to people who want to cycle to the city centre.”

The Burns Delivery Unit report said the pilot schemes – at Newport Cycle Hub and The Bike Lock in Cardiff, would be monitored this year.

Severn Tunnel Junction

Monmouthshire council and the Welsh Government want to improve road access and encourage more Severnside residents, including commuters to Bristol and Cardiff, to take the train rather than clog up the M4 around Newport.

Plans to improve access to Severn Tunnel Junction, survived the Welsh Government's Roads Review last month.

Severn Tunnel Junction railway station in Monmouthshire. (Image: Transport for Wales)

A public consultation was held between February and March last year over improving access to the station, which received nearly 600 responses.

The Burns Delivery Unit report states that further development work has been carried out – which includes the widening of the walking, cycling and bus connections to the station –  which will be shared with the public ahead of selecting a preferred option “in 2023”.