Connecting Communities

Connecting communities to level-up access to jobs, education and opportunity

Quick and efficient transport has long been a problem for our area. Despite this, the Western Gateway area continues to grow a highly skilled workforce that presents huge potential, creates innovative businesses, high tech clusters and world leading industry.

A fully functioning and efficient rail system is essential if we are to reach our carbon emission targets and improve our below average productivity. Our goals are to: 

• Provide transformational benefits for local communities at risk of being left behind with travel times between urban and rural centres nearly halved and greatly improved connections to London and beyond.
• Offer a deliverable programme of work – with a new robust strategic partnership and a pipeline of schemes already in planning and business case phases, deliverable by 2035. 
• Provide the opportunity to unlock huge potential. If we can overcome productivity hurdles, our research shows we could add at least £34bn to the UK economy by 2030. 
• Connect the UK to innovation with the new Global Centre for Rail Excellence, Bristol’s Station Innovation Zone plus industry leaders like CAF (Newport) and SIEMENS (Chippenham). 

What are we doing?

There is a huge opportunity across South Wales and Western England to transform rail connectivity, across the region and by improving journeys to London, Birmingham, South West and beyond.

The Western Gateway Rail Vision 2050 describes how we can develop an integrated network through a single, deliverable programme, building on what is planned by our partner transport bodies and outlines the next steps to take this vision from concept to delivery and to secure wider support.