Changing times a view of maliphant sidings swansea 05 09 2015
Maliphant sidings were railway sidings north of Swansea railway station in Wales, UK. In 2012 the sidings were identified as the future site of a maintenance depot for trains of the Intercity Express Programme.
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History
Swansea (High Street) railway station was built in 1850 for the South Wales Railway, which was absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1863. Sidings were constructed north of the station on the east side of the main line railway out of High Street station, opposite a goods station on the west side; Maliphant Street passed beneath the main line of the railway north of the goods station.
The original facilities included a workshop, turntable, and carriage shed. By the 20th century the turntable and workshops had been removed and the site had been converted into extensive linear sidings, the sidings remained in that form for the next 100 years, with some changes to layout.
Maliphant service depot
In 2012 it was announced that the sidings were to be the site of a new service depot for Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains operating on the Great Western Main Line, with construction due to start in 2015. Modifications of the original plans were submitted in 2013; changes to the plans included expansion of some buildings, but they did not expand the scale of work expected to be carried out at the site.
The depot is expected to be completed by 2016 and to become operational in 2017, employing 80 people. It will include an inspection building as well as train-washing and fuelling facilities.