Millions to be spent on new depot in Barry for updated fleet of Transport for Wales trains

Alex Seabrook, local democracy reporter

Vale of Glamorgan council is selling a railway depot in Barry to Transport for Wales for storing new trains.

Barry Railway Depot will see millions of pounds of investment in the scheme to transform it into a stable for some of the trains which will run on the Core Valley Lines including Barry.

The sale is expected to go through by the end of March, according to a recent report to the Vale council’s cabinet on the “strategically important transport project”.

Council bosses welcomed the sale and said the investment in the depot could see train drivers wanting to relocate to live in Barry, in a boost for the local economy.

Councillor Ben Gray, cabinet member for social care and health, said: “This is a really positive use of that land. At different stages of development, there were fears about the land being used for housing or inappropriate industry so close to the centre of Barry.

“I think it’s really positive that there’s a potential there for the focus of the new fleet to be stabled at the terminus in Barry. There may well be employees who are seeking to live close to that starting point, which is a benefit to the local area.

“There is a potential for this to be a really good development for the Vale as a whole, and of course for Barry.”

Plans to sell the depot were signed off the council’s cabinet during a meeting on Monday, February 28. It’s unclear how much income the council will receive from the sale, as this was kept confidential.

During the meeting, Cllr Lis Burnett, cabinet member for education and regeneration, added the depot should not cause any noise problems for neighbours, and no engineering or maintenance work will take place there.

New Swiss-made trains are set to replace the decades-old diesel fleet currently used on the Valley lines, as part of a major investment in public transport. These are expected to enter service soon.

The main engineering depot for Transport for Wales is in Canton in Cardiff.