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Transport for Wales is a not-for-profit organisation wholly owned by the Welsh Government and is transforming public transport throughout Wales and the Borders.
South Wales Metro Depot – Taff’s Well
Taff’s Well, located at the heart of the TfW owned Core Valley Lines, was chosen as the ideal location.
Demolition work at the 5-hectare Forgemasters site began in July 2019, with construction of the new depot and Metro control centre built on its foundations starting in January 2020.
The demolition was followed by remedial work to remove contaminated soil, which paved the way for the depot's foundations, completed in spring 2022.
From 2022, the Ffordd Bleddyn road bridge was closed, demolished and rebuilt to create a new rail entrance at the South of the depot.
A near 180-degree light rail bend now allows the tram-trains to enter and exit the site, linking to the original railway line.
Alongside work to construct the new depot, significant improvements have also been delivered at Taff's Well station.
Since 2021, both station platforms have been extended to accommodate TfW’s new longer trains and deliver level boarding enhancements.
In 2024, the original stepped footbridge, which had been in place since 1879, was carefully removed and donated to a heritage railway.
This was replaced by a brand-new Access for All footbridge, delivering step-free access to both platforms.
The Integrated Control Centre (ICC), located at the North end of the site, was completed in 2023.
It’s responsible for managing signalling across the Core Valley Lines, with responsibility transferred from Network Rail’s control centre in Cardiff.
It’s home to over 50 staff who work around the clock to keep the network moving.
South Wales Metro
The South Wales Metro project aims to transform the way people travel across the South Wales Valley’s through more frequent and faster journeys, made on new trains and tram-trains.
The project includes electrifying 170k of existing railway alongside upgrading the majority of stations.
Upgrades began in 2020, and since then major work has been delivered across the Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Coryton, Rhymney, City and Cardiff Bay railway lines.
Transport for Wales has become the first heavy rail operator outside London to launch a pay-as-you-go ticketing system.
The tap on, tap off technology has already enabled over 1.8 million journeys across 95 stations across South Wales and will expand to North Wales next year.
The next steps -South Wales Metro
With the depot now fully open and operational, attention now shifts to introducing the first tram-train into service from Spring 2026, alongside completing infrastructure upgrades across the Rhymney and Cardiff Bay lines.
Testing of the tram-trains will continue to become more frequent in the coming months as the first batch of train crew begin their training.
