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As reported last month, the sponsored ‘Walk to School’ day went ahead as planned and was deemed a great success. MAGOR group, in collaboration with our local county councillors, the staff of Magor Church in Wales and Undy Primary schools, Gwent Police and MCC officers facilitated the event in which some 462 pupils were able to take part. The objective was to demonstrate to our next generation the concept of Magor & Undy ‘Walkway’ Station and the impact it could make on the environment. Therefore, a big thank you to the children, their parents, and the staff of our amazing schools, for participating in making the day so successful. Also, our thanks go to the businesses and residents (see below) who pledged and donated to this important community initiative. In all, a sum of £465 was raised, and will be shared between the two schools along with certificates to mark the day. It is hoped the day will become an annual event until the station is built. Cllr. Frances Taylor has written a fuller account which you can read here.
Other news –
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As the MAGOR campaign has been seen as the successful model for a rail campaign, Phil Inskip and Ted Hand were delighted to be invited to attend and do a presentation to the Annual General Meeting of TRACS (Towards Restoring a Caerleon Station). This was a follow up presentation to the one they did at the launch of TRACS on the 26th of November 2023.
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Phil and I joined the MCC ‘Transport Forum’ web-meeting on 11th July. The meeting is useful to get an insight and an input into planned service improvements and changes. This time the subjects included –
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‘Active Travel’ – Routes being developed in Monmouth and Caldicot. The Undy to Rogiet cycle-way was mentioned as being in the planning stage, but is reliant on getting access to land in some sections but it is expected that a financial bid will be made in 2025.
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Buses – The recently introduced 75 service, the Magor to Sudbrook via Severn Tunnel Junction, was welcomed but would be better if aligned to train arrivals and departures. The X74 Newport to Chepstow now has an hourly service in the middle of the day
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TfW are introducing a ‘Pay As You Go’ service (currently only on Cardiff Central, Newport, Pontyclun and stations up to Ebbw Vale) which means you can buy your ticket as you travel with your contactless device and you’ll never pay more than you need to, as it will automatically charge you the best value fare for the journey you’ve made.
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Gareth Potter (TfW) – gave an update on the Burns Delivery Programme. A report on the public consultation is expected to be published shortly. A stage 3 business case for the South Wales mainline corridor and new stations (including Magor and Undy) is also expected soon, along with a ‘Prospectus’ which will spell out what we can expect to see. Phil has some strong reservations as to whether the whole package can be delivered by 2030. We will have to wait and see how things develop!
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