Promotions will require “very careful planning” for transport to Wrexham games

As Wrexham goes up the leagues “more people needing to be moved in and around Wrexham” is a good problem that needs to be solved, the Senedd has heard.

The detail came to light in a debate in the Senedd where Natasha Asghar MS quizzed Transport Minister Ken Skates over ‘traffic chaos’ around Bruce Springsteen, Pink and Taylor Swift events in Cardiff.

Asghar added, “Motorists faced 19 miles of tailbacks on the M4 ahead of Pink’s gig, there were major delays on the road for the Foo Fighters concert last night, and a blockage on one of the main rail lines caused widespread disruption on the morning of Taylor Swift’s performance. Now—and I’m not referring to Andrew R.T. Davies in this—when the Boss came to town, Great Western Railway put on extra trains to help meet the increased demand, yet as far as I can see, Transport for Wales didn’t.”

Responding to the questions the Transport Minister said, “Can I thank her for the questions that the Member has raised, and rightly so, about major events, not just in Cardiff but also in other parts of Wales, and the need to make sure that we’ve got a strategy in place to move people around efficiently and as swiftly as possible? I should say regarding Taylor Swift, yes, many warnings were issued, but traffic movements before and after the Taylor Swift concert were actually extremely efficient.

“When the world’s biggest entertainer comes to the city, you should expect some delays, I think. You should expect queues. I think it’s actually unreasonable to think that the traffic system, particularly the rail system, should be geared up always for major events; it’s just not possible to gear up the transport system in that way on a consistent daily basis. And instead, if you Google ‘Traffic chaos major event’, ‘Traffic chaos music concert’, you’ll find that cities around the world face the same problem in trying to channel people efficiently on public transport. Indeed, my niece attended the Taylor Swift concert, not in Cardiff, but at Anfield in Liverpool. So, I checked on the traffic ahead of that and found, yes, absolutely, traffic chaos on the motorways due to Taylor Swift. This is a common problem and we can’t escape from it.

“The key thing is that Cardiff Council, Transport for Wales and rail operators and the hosts of the events are actually working very closely now to make sure that we minimise disruption. And I think actually it was proven to be successful with the Taylor Swift concert.”

Looking more locally, Ken Skates said, “There will be issues around Wales as well. I met recently with one of the co-owners of Wrexham Association Football Club and with the local authority and with Transport for Wales to discuss how, in the future, given—I was going to say ‘the likelihood’—the hope that they will be promoted again, there will be far more people needing to be moved in and around Wrexham, and so that will require, for match days, very careful planning. So, we are looking at major events and how we can ensure that people are able to move to and from them in the most effective way.