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| Anger as £30m rail line delayed | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The opening of a £30m railway line between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff has been delayed until the New Year. | The opening of a £30m railway line between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff has been delayed until the New Year. |
| Blaenau Gwent AM Trish Law said the decision "beggars belief". | Blaenau Gwent AM Trish Law said the decision "beggars belief". |
| An official opening planned for Friday, which would have marked the return of rail passengers to the town after 45 years, has been called off. | An official opening planned for Friday, which would have marked the return of rail passengers to the town after 45 years, has been called off. |
| Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said Blaenau Gwent Council had told him of outstanding safety and engineering issues before the track could open. | Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said Blaenau Gwent Council had told him of outstanding safety and engineering issues before the track could open. |
| In a statement, Mr Jones, who is also transport minister, said the local authority had previously assured him that "that passenger services would begin before Christmas". | |
| Blaenau Gwent Council is responsible for delivering the project. | |
| An assembly government source has told BBC Wales that he spoke to a senior official of the council on Monday and was told: "We are not going to embarrass you. The railway will be 100% ready this week". | |
| Trish Law, an independent AM, described the announcement as a "bombshell". | |
| She said: "If it was not such a deadly serious matter this would be the Christmas joke of all time. | |
| "How can it be that we get an announcement like this just two days before the much-heralded official opening and 10 days before passenger services resume after an absence of 45 years? | |
| "Who will finance the £2m of work that needs doing? There are many questions that demand answers." | |
| Blaenau Gwent Council is expected to comment later. |