swansea electrification

[TheObserver]

I may be wrong, but I thought I saw a photo which showed the start of some ELECTRIFICATION at Swansea. Before the project was "cancelled" by London, had they started work at some sidings near the terminus? Probably just my imagination, and I never kept the Western Mail which ran a poor-quality picture of the area.

Correct!
The following comments are from my personal observations as a resident of Swansea, my technical knowledge of what can be seen from a 'drive past' are those of a layman. I have no connection with the railway industry other than that of an occasional passenger. If any other readers can sharpen-up on the following comments then please do so.

Click this link which should bring to screen a location on Morfa Road, Landore, which has recently been upgraded into a 'bypass' to remove commuter traffic from the nearby north-south (B4603) 'Neath Road'. It runs from the Liberty Stadium south towards the 'New Cut Road' bridge under High Street Railway Station. Google Street view has not yet caught up with the changes on the ground. However, alongside (west/ left of) Morfa Road can be seen sidings and presumably the ground work which I understand have been set aside as a Service Depot for the new service trains.

Lineside posts were erected some months ago with 'Hangers' attached thereto, although I cannot recall seeing the power line having been attached to the hangers. That is not so say they may not already be in place, when driving in Swansea it pays to concentrate on the road, rather than the roadside scenery.

I await with interest further comments from more knowledgeable readers.

[TheObserver]

I may be wrong, but I thought I saw a photo which showed the start of some ELECTRIFICATION at Swansea. Before the project was "cancelled" by London, had they started work at some sidings near the terminus? Probably just my imagination, and I never kept the Western Mail which ran a poor-quality picture of the area.

I wonder if you saw the images on the Wales on Line website link here, the article contains a couple of still images the second of which ties in with the Google Street View in the preceding reply and a short clip of video, if you're prepared to wait for the item to load and then watch the adverts! The bit showing the line side support posts is the last twenty seconds or so of the clip.

I'm tempted to add "Enjoy", but .. .. ..

[Rhobat Bryn]

In view of the bizarre decision to cancel the electrification of the line between Cardiff and Swansea, below is a vision of a new high-speed line between Cardiff and Swansea taking just half an hour as well as a Metro for Swansea from Professor Mark Barry of Cardiff University.

https://swalesmetroprof.blog/2017/09/15 ... bay-metro/

[s.w.johnson]

The original motivation behind extending the degree of electrification on the network was to reduce the need to use fossil fuels. The UK has a plan to ban cars powered by fossil fuels in, IIRC, 2030. I suspect there will be similar moves for lorries and buses also. So it would be anomalous for the train network to heavily rely on diesels.