NEW SIGNALLING west of Port Talbot, including Swansea station, was set for commissioning over the weekend of Friday 1 March to Monday 4 March. This is the latest instalment in the South Wales Major Resignalling (SWMR), which has previously renewed signalling from the Severn Tunnel to Port Talbot.
The March commissioning represents the culmination of Phase One of Port Talbot West resignalling, covering 153 Signalling Equivalent Units between Baglan and Cockett Tunnel. The forecast cost of Phase One is £60 million, including improvements to track, power supplies and telecoms equipment.
Phase Two, west of Cockett Tunnel, is in early development and scheduled for Control Period 6.
When the contract for Phase One was awarded to Siemens in 2016, one of the priorities was to immunise the signalling from Port Talbot to Swansea in advance of electrification, and final commissioning was expected in October 2017.
The Government subsequently dropped its commitment to electrify west of Cardiff. Port Talbot West Phase One was rescheduled to take account of the large number of possessions for electrification east of Cardiff. Network Rail aimed to minimise disruption to passengers by preventing simultaneous possessions at multiple points along the main line.
Commissioning of Phase One will include transferring control to a Westcad control desk at the Wales Rail Operating Centre (WROC) in Cardiff. However, this will not result in the WROC controlling the entire South Wales main line. The section covered by Port Talbot East, the first stage of the SWMR to be completed, is scheduled to transfer in March 2021 with the relocation of the existing control desk to the WROC. A 27-hour possession is planned for this activity. Rhodri Clark
