The Metro story I presented is just one window on reality. I am not sure anyone can ever see the whole picture or tell the whole story. So, I have asked some of the key people who were also part of this journey, and some closer to some of the details and decision making, to set out their views and recollections. I have no doubt that there will be different versions of the events and different recollections and interpretations of why decisions were made. This is entirely the point; I don’t want a sanitised version of what is a complicated multifaceted and multidimensional story.
- Roger Lewis – Chair of the Cardiff Capital Region Board 2013-15
- Geoff Ogden – Dir for Transport Planning and Development, TfW
- Peter Fox MS – Ex Leader of Monmouthshire Council
- More contributions are welcome…..
More I/P…..
Roger Lewis – Chair of the Cardiff Capital Region Board 2013-15
In 2013 I was asked by the Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, Edwina Hart to chair the Cardiff Capital Region Board.
The Board was drawn from leaders in the ten local authorities which make up the region, leaders in the private sector and the heads of universities within the region.
My brief was to advise the Minister on how best “to provide leadership, vision, and strategic direction for the City Region”, setting priorities in the context of an “innovative Region of distinction, connected communities and places planning their future together to maximise the opportunities of their people.”
In February 2015 our report, “Powering the Welsh Economy” was published. The three key themes of the report were connectivity, skills, and innovation and growth.
Our vision for the Cardiff Capital Region was to be globally connected, a great place to live and work and to power the Welsh economy. Our mission was to be an ambitious, collaborative, and well-connected city region with the confidence and lifestyle to deliver sustained success for our people and for us to compete on the national and international stage.
Our key arguments for a city region approach were based around the benefits that can arise through scale, shared risk, and reward and efficient and coordinated investment decisions.
I said at the time, and I passionately continue to believe that whilst our economic growth is spatially uneven, our economic development can be socially inclusive if our Cardiff Capital Region is well connected. Good connectivity is the hub around which all other activity is dependent, and connectivity is critical to ensuring that all parts of our Region have the equality of opportunity that they need and deserve. This economic, social, and environmental benefit will only be fully achieved if transport planning is more closely aligned with land use planning. Our report identified that the delivery of a world-class, integrated, and strategic transport system would profoundly transform the economic potential of our Region, advance social inclusion, and protect and enhance our environment. This was our priority.
The challenge of getting all ten local authorities which comprise the Cardiff Capital Region to agree to one unified strategy should not be underestimated and I thank them all for their ultimate collegiate approach, support, and friendship around the board table.
Mark Barry, the author of this book, was a consistent, passionate, informed, insightful and persuasive advocate of the potential and profound impact of the creation of a high performing integrated transport system for the Cardiff Capital Region. Mark without doubt was the visionary and the voice which echoed throughout our task to advise Welsh Government on the strategic direction for the Cardiff Capital Region.
The journey to create a connected Cardiff Capital Region which can provide equality of opportunity for all is well underway. Yes, there have been challenges over the years, but let us reflect upon the great success already achieved. Now is the time to look to the opportunities ahead of us all, and seize them together with ambition and confidence based upon the solid foundations of what has been created thus far.
Roger Lewis Chair Cardiff Capital Region 2013 -2015
January 2024.
Geoff Ogden – Dir for Transport Planning and Development, TfW
Behind the scenes – 2015 to 2020
Geoff Ogden – key roles: Interim Managing Director, Consultancy and Corporate Services Director
My involvement in transport in Wales has spanned much of my career, both through my employment and in roles with the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Association for Consultancy and Engineering in Wales. In these capacities I had always sought to make the case for longer term infrastructure strategies in Wales, particularly in the transport sector.
Prior to my involvement with the South Wales Metro, I had met with Mark on a couple of occasions. I particularly remember him and Luke Albanese visiting a few of us in Atkins’ offices to tell us about Metro – it seemed a distant opportunity, but extremely interesting.
My direct involvement started in late summer 2015, when I was commissioned by Simon Jones to produce a project plan to collate, understand and deliver the requirements for the new Wales and Borders Franchise and the Metro. I was given a few weeks (which flashed by!) to meet with many Welsh Government transport officers and others to develop the plan and establish how this challenging programme could be started in earnest.
A short time later I met with Simon. He had read the draft document I had prepared, and our focus soon moved to the next steps. It was clear that somebody needed to take on this next challenge. Simon asked me whether I would be prepared to do it. Looking back, it is one of a few career-defining moments that I recall – perhaps naively I said ‘yes’… and off we went!
Mark’s narrative in the main body of this book provides a huge amount of information on the key technical and political challenges, but I’d like to focus on some of the hidden activities. It may be less glamorous but there was a huge amount of work needed to build an organisation (initially named the ‘Welsh Government Transport Company’) from scratch. This organisation needed to be able to advise and support the Welsh Government as a credible and capable offer, to engage with the market to develop an engaged supply chain, to be able to do the important administrative activities (employ people and pay salaries, place orders and pay organisations, establish an office, develop good company governance (including a Board), manage the programme of work etc.).
We started as a small team of ‘borrowed’ and seconded people hot-desking in the Welsh Government’s offices at Cathays Park. We begged and borrowed space where we could, working in and around others in the transport team. I was invited to join a group of senior officials from the various Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies – I am indebted to them for the help, advice and wise counsel that they provided. Since then, I have always sought to help others developing new entities in the public sector.
I particularly recall an early meeting with a delegation from Network Rail. I’m not sure how we came across as we were grilled on the plans and the detail of our programme’s ‘work breakdown structure’. Behind the scenes many of us were still trying to get to grips with all this ourselves, never mind being in a position of having it documented!
We soon outgrew the space available at Cathays Park, so we found and moved to rented space at Brunel House, right next to Cardiff Queen Street station. This space allowed us to grow as a team, whilst also looking to the next steps in our evolution which would require significant engagement with any bidders for our rail franchise opportunity. The approach for this bid would be different to any other that the rail market in the UK had ever engaged with before – with at least two notable unique aspects.
Firstly, the bid would include both rail services for the whole of Wales AND it would include rail infrastructure and management for the Core Valley Lines. This approach was largely borne of the desire to seek technology solutions from bidders that would bring technical innovation to the South Wales Metro opportunity.
Secondly, given that desire for technical innovation and an outcome-based approach, rather than a detailed technical specification for a particular solution, the bid would use a competitive dialogue approach. This approach would be intensive both for bidders and for our team. It would require a robust but agile approach as well as excellent administration and engagement arrangements.
So, our backstage plans then focused on finding a base from which to run our procurement.
Our next move was to Southgate House, near to Cardiff Central station. This location offered easy access for bidders, who would be bringing in teams from across the UK and Europe.
We were very pleased and excited with the interest we were developing through our engagement with the market and also with the passion and commitment that they were all bringing to the table.
As we moved into the tender period our team focused on running the competitive dialogue as well as working with Welsh Government colleagues to ensure there was full alignment between the outcomes required and the solutions being offered.
In the background we continued to develop our team to ensure we had the right skills to take the next steps beyond the procurement and appointment of the ‘Operator and Development Partner’ (ODP) – the successful bidder.
It was therefore critical that we continued to develop the organisation to truly become an organisation that people could join to develop their career. We developed our brand and our offering, much of which has continued to serve us well over the years.
Once the ODP was appointed, we now had a broader team that was now working as Transport for Wales – the Authority and Rail Services provider.
Within the authority, as well as looking at the immediate and short-term requirements for the transformation of the CVL and the Wales and Borders rail services, we started to look beyond that to establish a longer-term plan for the next stages of the South Wales Metro and other transport programmes across Wales.
We were also establishing our practical plans for our next relocation – to Llys Cadwyn in Pontypridd in 2020. This move would seek to establish us as an ‘anchor employer’ in the locality, supporting the development of the economy in the locality. We worked closely with Rhondda Cynon Taf Council (the developer and landlord for the site) to establish our fit-out programme and, to cut a long story short, we have ended up with a great facility for our team to develop in Southeast Wales.
We continued to grow our team and our capabilities to develop transport programmes across Wales, supporting the development and delivery of active travel, bus services, interchanges, integrated ticketing and information, EV charging and wider transport advisory services.
Thank you to everyone involved in helping to set us up so well in the first few years.
Peter Fox MS – Ex Leader of Monmouthshire Council
Metro and the Cardiff Capital Region- Peter Fox
Back in 2013 I was pleased to accept the then Economy Minister Edwina Hart’s invite to become a member of Cardiff Capital Region Board. This was a great opportunity in my eyes to build on the work across South East Wales where councils had started to cement work in a collaborative approach to address shared issues.
The fact that Leaders across SEW had built strong partnerships and relationships was a strong plank in what was needed to build a wider collaborative vehicle working with Welsh Government, academia and business.
The region boasted, as it still does, a wealth of components that when assembled, or brought together in the right way could create a capital region that could help drive the opportunities for the whole of Wales. It has to be recognised that the Capital Region, spanning ten councils from Bridgend to Chepstow in Monmouthshire is only circa 65 miles long and 35 miles deep, but is home to half of the Welsh population.
To me it was clear that if we could shape this region, stimulate growth here we could in many ways influence the future of the whole of Wales.
I recall early conversations of how we needed a joined up, regional approach to economic development and transport. It was in those early meetings that deeper conversations of integrated transport and regional infrastructure evolved. We knew there were good examples around the world where strong integrated transport systems were fundamental to the growth of their cities and regions. Stuttgart was a prime example of how great rail infrastructure was fundamental to unlocking the regions potential. The relationship between municipalities, businesses, education and transport was a fantastic example of well-thought-out economic development and planning. These examples I recall firmly demonstrated the need for a South Wales Metro.
However, during the period that the Capital Region Board was shaping its recommendations for the region a growing opportunity was emerging.
A City Deal was in reach and focus had to be diverted to the opportunities that this could present for the region. The strength of the political relationships between councils in South East Wales was so fundamental to anchoring the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal. Many months of intense negotiations with UK, Welsh government and the 10 local councils secured the biggest UK city deal at £1.229 Bn. This was a true City Deal, not a Growth Deal but an investment fund, one to be used working closely with the regions business sector to create 25,000 jobs, lift GVA and lever in £4Bn of inward investment.
There followed for a period a duplication of focus from both the Capital Region Board and those of us driving the city deal.
A fundamental element of the city deal, and also as pointed out the desire of the regional board, was the need for the Metro.
As we know the finance piece of the puzzle was clarified and £734mil of the City Deal was committed to the Metro’s delivery. This satisfied the Welsh Government’s contribution to the deal supplemented by some EU residual funding. The UK Government put £500mil forward and the balance from Local Government who were also the owners of the City Deal.
Now nearly ten years on we see the Metro emerging and significant economic growth being realised through industries like the Compound Semi-conductor industry being anchored in the region.
My wish for the future is that the region goes from strength to strength, the Metro comes fully into fruition and economic activity is spread across the region leading to a wonderful future for the people of the region. What is key though is that the story thus far, and how and why we got here isn’t lost. Relationships take years to build but can be lost in seconds.