The Tunnel

In Nice Work If You Can Get There I recounted the sad tale of the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Tunnel. The line through the mountain connected Blaencwm, north of Treherbert, to Blaengwynfi, high above the Afan Valley, and thence to Port Talbot. It was closed in the mid-1960s as part of the Beeching review of the British rail network. As Kerry Hamilton and Stephen Potter pointed out in their book Losing Track (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985), the cost of maintaining the tunnel was a key factor in its closure – even though it shouldn't have been a consideration.

Suddenly, however, the Rhondda Tunnel is firmly back on the map. There's an ambitious proposal to reopen it to walkers and cyclists, and add it to the network of cycle paths which criss-cross the Valleys. Last night, a meeting was held in Treorchy to discuss the scheme.

I'd planned to go over, but the weather forecast talked in ominous tones of snow moving in throughout the day. As it's difficult enough to get from Aberdare to Treorchy and back by public transport on a good day, I erred on the side of caution and stayed at home. Consequently I can't tell you what happened, but there's been some good coverage in the Welsh media this week (Group behind plans to reopen Wales' longest tunnel 'stunned' at response).

As I've told you previously, my friend Dr Dafydd Trystan Davies (the Plaid Cymru candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth at the next Welsh Assembly elections) is a great champion of cycling and a keen advocate of public transport in general. He's already suggested that the Merthyr Tunnel (between the Cynon and Taff Valleys) could also be reopened to foot and cycle traffic, as could the lesser-known Quakers Yard Tunnel a few miles to the south. I expect he's as excited as I am by the proposals taking shape just over the mountain from us.

Over the border in England, Bath has long had an enlightened 'green' approach to transport issues. The Two Tunnels Greenway is a 13-mile shared-use recreational path, utilising two disused railway tunnels on its route around the outskirts. The scheme is still ongoing, but it's already proved popular with city-dwellers and tourists alike. The Rhondda Tunnel Society has been inspired by this example, and their plan has already attracted the support of Sustrans, the sustainable transport body.

Meanwhile, any progress on a Valleys Metro scheme seems to be some way away, but I see no reason why the two plans can't coexist and complement each other. I've talked about my personal vision for a Valleys light rail system before, but I happen to believe that it's a perfectly viable idea. In Manchester, two years ago, I saw the way the trams and road traffic blend seamlessly throughout the city centre. The same principle could be applied in South Wales. Single-track running through the former railway tunnels would allow plenty of room for both trams and cyclists and walkers.

I still stand by my argument that any LRT system needs to start towards the tops of the Valleys, and not in Cardiff. I've already written about the need to connect Pontypridd to the main line at Llantrisant, thereby eliminating the need to travel into Cardiff and back out again. I've also mentioned a possible link in the opposite direction, between the Taff and Rhymney Valleys. The disused Aber branch between Taffs Well and Caerphilly would serve this purpose admirably. Another connection could be made from Pontypridd, via Nelson, to Ystrad Mynach. These are just the most obvious examples which spring to mind, as the rest of the rail infrastructure is already in place.

The benefits to these communities and the surrounding areas would be immediate. Many skilled construction jobs would be created to put the lines in place, pumping much needed investment into the Valleys economy. In the longer term, it would open up the jobs market to people who do not drive (it's much easier to go north-south than to go east-west at present, and virtually impossible if you don't drive.) This would relieve the pressure on our crowded Valleys roads, making a more pleasant environment for everyone.

In my opinion, we need a Roosevelt-style New Deal for the Valleys, with major new civil engineering projects to pull us out of the stagnant economy we've endured since the Miners' Strike. My own interpretation of the Valleys Metro idea is one such example; there are probably many others. After all, when hundreds of millions of pounds can be spent on new roads in the Valleys, and possibly billions spent on the M4 in the near future, the Westminster mantra of 'austerity' starts to ring rather hollow, doesn't it?