Monmouthshire County Council has submitted a bid for a new railway station in Magor, together with the Magor Action Group on Rail (MAGOR) local community group. The bid for a walkway station – a station accessed by the local population primarily via walking and cycling – has been made to the Department for Transport’s New Station Fund and aims to provide improved and sustainable accessibility to key destinations for residents of Magor with Undy.
Population expansion in the area and employment growth in Cardiff and Bristol have led to an increased demand for public transport. The proposed station would be served by hourly trains to both cities as well as Newport, Chepstow, Gloucester and Cheltenham.
The entire population of Magor with Undy, expected to rise to 10,000 over the next few years, is within one mile of the preferred site for the station, which presents an opportunity to open a unique community-engaged and integrated walkway station, adjacent to a planned community centre.
The proposed facility will include features normally associated with modern stations such as cycle parking, LED lighting and CCTV as well as bus stop and waiting facilities with first-rate pedestrian access.
Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, Councillor Peter Fox said: “The return of railway travel for Magor with Undy after many years will be welcomed by the community and will offer many benefits. It will bring employment, retail, healthcare, education and leisure opportunities closer for residents and reduce traffic growth on congested local roads. It will significantly reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from transport and promote sustainable integrated travel. The council and MAGOR have previously applied for funding from the New Station Fund, and while we received very positive feedback from the DfT, we were unsuccessful as other proposals were further advanced. With more investigative work having being done and a stronger case, we are hopeful that this time it may be successful.”
MAGOR’s Ted Hand added: “The Magor with Undy Walkway Station concept is unique. A station that will do what it will say on the station sign – a walk/cycle/public transport accessible station. As far as we can ascertain, it would be the first dedicated walkway station to open in 100 years and a first for Monmouthshire, Wales and the UK in recent years. It will be a case of back to the future for our community. Hopefully, it will be the first of many of this type of station to open in the UK – stations that are specifically designed to reduce pollution, integrate public transport and get people active. All these elements will be essential to address climate change. The aim is also to provide a much needed holistic and integrated solution to public transport in Severnside, joining up the bus services and having a park and ride station at Severn Tunnel Junction, together with a walk and cycle to Magor with Undy Walkway Station.”
Contact Monmouthshire’s Transport Planning and Policy Officer, Christian Schmidt – ChristianSchmidt@monmouthshire.gov.uk – for further details.