Lucky Goldstar The creation of 6,000 jobs by the Korean electronic company Lucky Goldstar at a site near Newport was announced in July. RDS is pressing Newport council for a station to be opened at Maesglas to serve it via a connecting bus link. At present, it is only accessible for car owners and could generate up to 12,000 extra car journeys per day.
Reopening hope A meeting took place in September between councillors, officers and RDS representatives and Railtrack at Ebbw Vale Civic Centre. One of the Railtrack representatives was David MacIntosh who has experience with the reopening of the Robin Hood Line, a much more complex project than the Newport to Ebbw Vale line. Railtrack was very up-beat and positive about the idea. A funding package will be needed. EC funds could be available and the Millennium Commission is a possibility. Early in 1997 the line between Aberbeeg and Lime Kiln crossing will be singled, creating one continuous single line section from Park Junction to Ebbw Vale, eliminating lengths of poor quality track and allowing higher speeds.
Promotion RDS Cardiff group had a stall promoting reopening of the Vale of Glamorgan line at Llantwit Major in September. There was a good response from locals with most people saying it would be a good thing. Even car owners wanted an alternative to being stuck in traffic jams. Thirty two people were signed up.
Unfair contest Repeated road "improvements" adjacent to South Wales and the West Railway have strongly increased competition, said manager Chris Gibb who spoke to the RDS South Wales open meeting in Cardiff on 5 October. The opening of the second Severn Crossing is the most noticeable of these, significantly reducing road journey times between South Wales and Bristol. Mr Gibb gave a generally upbeat presentation on his views of the future under Prism Rail's management, tempered with caution.
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