A wnaiff Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet gadarnhau pryd y bydd cyfrifoldeb dros reilffyrdd craidd y cymoedd yn trosglwyddo o Network Rail i Lywodraeth Cymru/Trafnidiaeth Cymru?
The South Wales Metro has been developed to be a flexible and extendable solution, allowing Transport for Wales to explore infrastructure enhancements and extensions to enable further services to be introduced along existing rail corridors, disused routes and in on-street environments. The potential option of converting the Aberdare to Hirwaun freight line to passenger use is one that has already been identified by Transport for Wales. The programme for delivering enhancements and extensions will depend on identifying the funding and business justification.
The agreed intention is to transfer the rail asset by the end of 2019. Discussions on the detail of the mechanism for transferring the asset, alongside the due diligence work, are ongoing.
Responsibility for the operation, maintenance and renewal of the rail asset resides with Network Rail, and will do so until its transfer. The insertion of a stop block at Aberdare is therefore a matter for Network Rail. Transport for Wales has confirmed that, as a temporary feature, this can be removed in future if the line is enhanced and made safe to operate passenger services.