Firstly, I admitit fully. I love Cardiff. Moreso than any other city including my own hometown. But, I’m not going to bore you to death with my undying love for the capital of Wales but to discuss the accessability of the largest and most prominent city of Wales.
Apart from “nearby” towns and cities such as Swansea, Newport, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd etc.. The capital of Wales, is largely inaccessable to the majority of Welsh people. Even areas served by public transport such as Merthyr Tydfil, offer one-an-hour train services too and from Cardiff. I can only imagine the services in other parts of Wales… Why, for example travel to Cardiff from anywhere in Powys, when you can travel to Birmingham for likely half the price?
Matters certainly aren’t helped when the people of the North, who see such investment in the south reap no rewards from it. Resentment is only increased with relations between the gogs and my fellow hwntw’s, which have historically not been that good since the fall of Owain Glyndwr (tobach on w). It doesn’t seem wise to me, as the average Welshman that investing so much in Cardiff and surrounding areas reaps no rewards for the northerners. After all, isn’t Cardiff supposed to be every Welsh persons city of pride? How can people be proud of a capital they can very rarely reach?!
The investment into Cardiff, in my opinion is fantastic but, I can say that because I directly reap the rewards from it. That isn’t fair to all though. Regardless that the South is more populous than the west and north combined. It is said that the terrain of Wales makes it impossible to connect North and South, through central Wales possible… I don’t believe that for a second. Why? Let’s just look at railway achievments world wide..
The transcontinental railway in the U.S.A was finished in 1869, from the east coast to the west. Traversing and going through the rocky mountains. Dwarfing the Brecons, Cambrian and Snowdonia.
Trans-siberian railway, linking Moscow to Beijingin 1905. Over 5000 miles of track and penetrates countless mountain regions and terrain types.
Now, if other countries can achieve feats of this magnitude, surely we can do the same. It isn’t impossible, what it really. truely boils down to is investment. Historically, Wales hasn’t had that much investment at all, now that we have increased political powers with the assembly, perhaps one day I can catch a train from Cardiff to Aberystwyth…
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