Extract from Rail User Express Sept. 2010.
The 17 mile Ebbw Vale line, re-opened to passengers in 2008, has been a HUGE success….take note anyone still doubting the justification & traffic potential for reopening the Northern part of the former Waverley main line route from Edinburgh to Galashiels/Tweedbank.
The Welsh Assembly Government is increasingly supportive of rail schemes after the reopened Ebbw Valley line met its five-year target of carrying a million passengers in ONLY 18 months!
Network Rail is now progressing schemes to extend the Ebbw Valley line into Ebbw Vale town centre and also allow trains to run direct between the existing Ebbw Vale Parkway terminus and Newport, in addition to those already running to Cardiff.
– Transport Briefing 8/10
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Ebbw Vale very much echoes the Scottish experience, such as:
Laurencekirk (re-opened 2009) was used by 60,000 passengers in its first year of operation, compared to the forecast 36,000
Alloa (2008) has 400,000 passengers annually, compared to a forecast of 155,000
Larkhall (2005) was by 2008 being used by 40% more passengers than originally forecast
Beauly (2002) has similarities to Stow, being a small wayside station – and is now carrying around 60,000 passengers annually (four times the original forecast traffic).