As the development of Barry depot in south Wales gradually draws to a close, train drivers who will operate local Transport for Wales (TfW) passenger services from Barry Island to Aberdare, Merthyr, and Treherbert are returning to the depot for the first time since the 1990s.

Since the national timetable changes on 18th May, 39 drivers are based at the depot, bringing the overall number of staff working at the depot to 58.

This figure includes other on-board staff, depot/train cleaners, and other members of railway staff.

Since 2022, Barry depot has been under the ownership of TfW, who have developed the site in partnership with Network Rail to enable class 231, 756, and the yet to be introduced class 398 units, to be berthed at Barry depot in between duties.

To enable staff to access the depot from Barry Town station, an authorised walking route has been provided. And in a bid to help the local biodiversity, a wellbeing garden has also been installed. The depot was reopened to passenger train drivers on May 16th 2025. In attendance were Lis Burnett, Vale of Glamorgan council leader, MS Jane Hutt and other stakeholders and investors.

The reopening of Barry depot will not affect the role of Canton depot in Cardiff, which will continue to fuel and undertake heavy general maintenance on trains as and when needed.

Barry depot was built in the 1890s by the Barry Railway and was a stabling point for locos working local trains across south Wales and those that were employed across the local dockyard there. British Rail removed passenger drivers from the site in the mid 1980s as it undertook a restructuring project, which then left only freight train drivers based at the depot, this lasted until 1999. In 2009 Cambrian Transport operated from Barry depot until 2022 when it became part of TfW.

“This is transformational for people and the area and is testament to the hard work of so many to make it happen.

“It’s incredible to have the drivers coming back here”.

“When we took the depot on it required a major clean up operation. We took a really joined up approach to it, putting safety and sustainability at the forefront, as well as looking ahead and planning for the future.”

Depot Manager Alun Davies