Swansea Bay Futures - Infrastructure
Connections By Road
Motorways provide excellent links to and from Swansea Bay: London and the South East via the M4, the Midlands and the North via the M50, M5 and M6. Swansea is also part of the national coach network with direct express services to Central London, Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and other parts of the UK.
Distance to Central London: Up to 200 miles (Up to 4 hours)Distance to Birmingham: Up to 200 miles (Up to 3 hours)
Distance to Bristol: Up to 100 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)
Distance to Leeds: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Leicester: Up to 200 miles (Up to 4 hours)
Distance to Liverpool: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Manchester: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Sheffield: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Oxford: Up to 200 miles (Up to 3 hours)
Distance to Cambridge: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Connections By Rail
Regional and national rail network services are available via Swansea to all main destinations within the UK. Two passenger services an hour operate between Swansea and London Paddington, with regular services to the Midlands, the North and West Wales. Onward trains to Carmarthenshire stations run at least every hour during the day. There are also fast air/rail links to Swansea from London (Gatwick and Heathrow), Bristol and Cardiff Airport. There is also a rail freight depot in Swansea, which provides containerised delivery facilities.
Hours to Central London: Up to 3Connections By Air
Cardiff Airport is less than an hour`s drive east from Swansea, along the M4 motorway, and offers access to a wide and growing range of domestic, European and worldwide destinations. There are frequent flights to Amsterdam (3-5 daily flights), Paris (1-2 daily flights) and Dublin (1-3 daily flights), which allow connecting flights to the rest of the world. Cardiff Airport serves approximately 2 million passengers annually.
Limited facilities are also available from Swansea and Pembrey Airports, which are currently used by light aircraft and private planes.
Distance to Bristol: Up to 100 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)
Distance to London Heathrow: Up to 200 miles (Up to 4 hours)
Connections By Freight Ports
The largest port in Wales is Milford Haven, which is a 90 minute drive west of Swansea. Two major oil refineries and two LNG projects are based within this port. There are also 2 freight ports in Swansea Bay, operated by Associated British Ports, situated in Port Talbot and Swansea. Passenger sailings operate between Rosslare in Ireland and Fishguard or Pembroke Dock - both a 90 minute drive west of Swansea city.
Distance to Milford Haven: Up to 75 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)Distance to Avonmouth/Bristol: Up to 75 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)
Broadband / ICT Facilities
Major towns, cities and commercial centres within the Swansea Bay region benefit from high speed, competitive broadband networks. South West Wales is served by BT, Virgin Media, AOL, Sky/Easynet, Talk Talk and others. Wales has one of the most advanced broadband networks in Europe.
