From Coal to Connectivity: How Bentley Software is Powering Social Mobility in the City of Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff’s journey from a coal-exporting titan to a modern, connected capital is a story of resilience, reinvention, and regeneration. Once the world’s largest coal-exporting port, Cardiff’s docks fueled the engines of the Industrial Revolution. But as the coal industry declined in the 20th century, the city faced economic stagnation and social challenges that lingered for decades.
Today, Cardiff is writing a new chapter powered not by coal, but by connectivity, sustainability, and digital innovation. At the heart of this transformation is the Core Valley Lines (CVL) Transformation Project, a GBP 1 billion initiative to electrify and modernize 170 kilometers of railway serving the South Wales Valleys. Behind the scenes, Bentley’s digital project delivery software is helping make it all possible.
Engineering a New Era of Opportunity
Led by infrastructure specialist Amey Consulting, the CVL project is more than a rail upgrade, it’s a catalyst for social mobility and regional growth. By improving journey times, doubling network capacity, and enhancing accessibility, the project is reconnecting communities that were once isolated by geography and economic decline.
“We’ve got these communities that were once sort of thriving working communities,” said Nathan Sealy, head of systems engineering for Amey. “Their previous employment opportunities have disappeared, and we need to give them good, reliable, energy-efficient public transport so that they can find new job opportunities and improve that social mobility.”
But delivering such a massive, multi-stakeholder project required a digital-first approach. That’s where Bentley’s project delivery software came in.
Digital Collaboration at Scale
Amey adopted ProjectWise to create a connected data environment and unify over 1,500 collaborators across over 40 organizations. This platform enabled seamless sharing of designs, reports, and surveys, while maintaining a single source of truth. With over 100,000 documents managed through automated workflows, the team dramatically reduced design time and improved traceability.
Amey also used SYNCHRO’s digital construction capabilities and an integrated program information model to coordinate the various construction works and identify clashes in a virtual environment, preventing them from causing problems on-site.
Sustainability Meets Social Value
The CVL project is also a win for the environment. Electrified trains will cut operational carbon emissions, while Bentley’s digital tools helped reduce the need for travel, site visits, and in-person meetings during development and construction, lowering the project’s overall carbon footprint.
But perhaps most importantly, the project is unlocking access. By connecting underserved communities to Cardiff’s economic core, it’s creating new pathways to education, employment, and opportunity.
A Digital Bridge from Past to Future
Cardiff’s coal-powered past laid the foundation for its industrial might. Today, digital engineering is laying the tracks for a more inclusive, sustainable future. With Bentley’s technology and Amey’s vision, the Core Valley Lines project is not just transforming transport, it’s transforming lives.
As Alex Gilbert, managing director of Amey, put it: “Bentley’s software and support, coupled with our domain knowledge of infrastructure, the environment, and social value, has enabled us to bring this project together and use digital engineering processes from start to finish to manage and deliver the work program in record time.”
See what else is possible with Bentley project delivery software.
