Swansea and Mumbles Railway - Suggested Re-opening

Suggested Re-opening

Re-opening has frequently been discussed in the local press and local politicians frequently bring the topic up. However the project has not yet got to the drawing board and unlike other councils, Swansea Council has not submitted a plan to central government for funding, as transport is devolved in Wales. Meanwhile road traffic problems between Swansea and Mumbles are forever increasing and the case for re-opening continues.

The campaign to encourage Swansea Council to look again at the option for trams is being promoted by Councillor Rob Speht and the Trams 4 Swansea Campaign.

As Chairman of the City & County of Swansea's Cabinet Advisory Committee for Economic Development 2004–2006, Councillor Rob Speht brought the idea of trams back onto the Council's agenda. The committee started the process of looking into the feasibility of trams for Swansea, even visiting Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham to take evidence from their City Councils.

The committee looked at trams routes in Swansea from:

• Port Talbot (via SA1 / Fabian Way) to Mumbles

• County Hall (via Bus Station, Railway Station and Liberty Stadium) to the Enterprise Park and Morriston

• Blackpill to Dunvant, Gowerton and Llanelli

In 2006, the committee structure was re-organised following new rules from the Welsh Assembly and the Cabinet Advisory Committees abandoned, along with their policy development work.

The Trams 4 Swansea campaign started in 2007.

On 16 February 2009, the City & County of Swansea started the process of looking at the feasibility of trams for the Swansea bay area again. The ERC (Environment, Regeneration and Culture) Overview Board, which is a policy making committee chaired by Councillor Rob Speht, discussed the options for feasibility work and scheduled tasks to assess the technical, financial and social feasibility of bringing trams back to Swansea.