NEWPORT POLITICIANS UNITE TO SLAM RAIL LINK DELAY

Newport politicians including Paul Flynn MP and Rosemary Butler AM have united to condemn the failure of the Welsh Assembly and Network Rail to provide a through rail service between Ebbw Vale and Newport. Instead passengers for Newport must alight for a bus link to Newport station. At the protest at Rogerstone station Ms Butler said rail passengers on this journey faced using the shuttle buses "for years". She said: "I'm very disappointed that there are still no firm dates for completion of the route to the centre of Newport. "We hoped that the line from the Gwent valleys towns would open much sooner, so that students at the new university campus and people who come into Newport to work would have been able to use it.It's very important that as well as passengers from further up the valley, residents from Rogerstone, Rhiwderin and Bassaleg are also able to get to Newport on the train.It seems we now have to wait until the end of the decade at the very least."

The Welsh Assembly Government said: "The stretch of line between Ebbw Vale and Newport can only take empty, non-passenger stock trains due to Network Rail's signalling rules and regulations. Regular passenger services can only take place after this stretch of the line has more complex signalling. The earliest opportunity to re-signal would be 2009, when Network Rail completes the re-signalling of the main line at Newport."