Ghost car park was meant to fix M4 chaos but barely anyone uses it
The car park looks shiny and new and has 172 bays... which sit empty most of the time
16:35, 15 Jun 2025
The car park appears to be almost always empty(Image: John Myers)
As car parks go, you'd be stumped to find better than this huge one just off Station Road in the village of Rogiet in southeast Wales. It's right next to a train station, is just off the M4[1], has roomy bays, pristine tarmac and plenty of spaces.
Despite this, it has sat empty for years as no-one ever uses it. We first visited this car park a short while after it opened in 2023 and it seems as though it is still as deathly quiet as it was back then, which is perhaps why it still looks so nice.
There are 172 perfectly-paved bays, 10 electric vehicle charging points (and space for 16 more), wide lanes, and it seems like it would be in a prime location, close to the M4 and major cities like Newport[2], Cardiff[3] and Bristol as well as a train station.
While it may just seem like an empty car park that many would argue is a waste of money, it sums up some of the issues faced when trying to get people out of their cars and onto public transport.
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Laura Anne Jones, Conservative MS for South Wales East said: "Considering the considerable amount of investment that went into the new car park in Rogiet, it's a shame that it seems as though it's still hardly ever used."
The new car park at Severn Tunnel Junction, pictured last year(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)Article continues below
Moving a problem elsewhere?
The village of Rogiet in Monmouthshire[5] is sandwiched between two motorways - the M4 to the south and the M48 to the north. You would think that with two of the country's most major roads on most residents' doorsteps that the village would be very-well connected.
However, to the west the M4 is one of the most congested stretches of motorway in the UK. This is due in part to the Brynglas Tunnels (which there are almost always delays at) but also the way the motorway wildly weaves and has multiple junctions in quick succession, as well as steep hills to slow down lorries.
The M4 relief road was proposed to try and solve this problem but after millions were spent developing the plans, the scheme was scrapped by Mark Drakeford citing, in principle, environmental concerns as the relief road would have decimated the Gwent wetlands.
You won't see hardly anyone using it(Image: John Myers)
Whatever you think of that decision, there is still a serious problem to be solved - how do you reduce traffic congestion on the M4 round Newport?
After all, there are tens of thousands of people, many of them children, living in the deadly pollution created by that bit of the motorway. And this is where this interesting little car park comes in.
It has been built close to the train station at Severn Tunnel Junction, which is right next to Rogiet. The thinking is if you can get people travelling west towards Cardiff to leave the motorway before the Brynglas chokepoint, park at the station, and get the train the rest of the way, it will take a lot of pressure off the motorway.
While this may seem like a straightforward idea, it isn't to those living in Rogiet or Magor.
The only way to get to that car park is through the village of Rogiet.
To do this, first you have to drive down a heavily built-up but narrow Station Road. There are multiple crossings and loads of parked cars - not to mention that during rush hour there are loads of kids heading to the primary school[6] just off the road.
Station Road is a village street and not built for a large volume of cars(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Next, you drive over a narrow bridge and leave your vehicle in the deluxe car park.
But then you reach perhaps the biggest hurdle. Because, although you are literally no more than 25m from the platform, you are on the wrong side of the tracks.
You are on the wrong side of the tracks if you use the car park(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
You now have to walk back over the bridge and down a narrow, poorly-lit, single-file lane by some allotments to get to the station.
This could be set to change, however, as a Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson said the council had commissioned Network Rail to create plans for an accessible footbridge that will link the car park and the railway station platforms.
Even so, another problem arises when you finally reach the platform.
Lots of trains on the South Wales Mainline don't actually stop at Severn Tunnel Junction and just power on through between Bristol and Newport. At times during the day there are 45 minutes between trains (though this fluctuates over the course of the day).
The narrow lane you need to walk down to get to Severn Tunnel Junction station(Image: WalesOnline)
So why is this all a problem?
If you want to take traffic off the M4 to use this station the traffic that was on the M4 is now going to be driving through Rogiet. These are some of the issues that the plan has for both people in the village and those who would be using the railway:
- If the car park is full 172 additional cars will be passing through this small village - many at the same time.
This just transfers part of the congestion to the people living here.
- There are already two car parks that cater for the station adjacent to the actual platform. If these are also full the traffic is likely to well exceed the capacity of the new car park.
- Hundreds of people have to walk down what is essentially a country lane that can only fit one car at a time.
Locals have previously spoken of their concerns about this increased use. Sebastian McVicker-Orringe, vice-chair of Rogiet Community Council (RCC), raised these concerns on behalf of RCC during the planning process for the car park.
He said that the proposal was "manifestly unsafe for pedestrians" due to the fact that "Station Road is already a danger to pedestrians".
But this brings us to what is perhaps the bigger issue for the Welsh Government's plans to get traffic off the M4 - the fact that no-one is actually using the car park. Despite the battle to get it built no-one seems overly keen to actually use it. There often appears to just be a handful of cars in the car park.
People seem to find it less inconvenient to sit in traffic than to get the train.
Perhaps the idea of winding your way through a congested village then walking down a dark narrow lane to wait 40 minutes for a train that could possibly be cancelled isn't appealing?
Now there may be motivators in the coming years that will encourage more people to use the station. For one thing, if Cardiff brings in a congestion charge[7] it might be enough of a financial motivator to get people to park up before the tunnels. In addition the South Wales Metro could help as Severn Tunnel will be the first station on a line running all the way to central Cardiff which could increase the frequency of services from the station.
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Whether you agreed with it or not the decision to cancel the relief road[9] has left thousands of people condemned to live in smog for the foreseeable future.
The Welsh Government's plans to alleviate this might work but as of yet the M4 remains gridlocked for large parts of most days. And even if it does work the people of Rogiet may find their air considerably less fresh.
A Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson said: "Monmouthshire County Council has commissioned Network Rail to progress the designs for constructing an accessible footbridge that will link the car park and the Severn Tunnel Junction Railway Station platforms. The designs and indicative costings should be completed by the end of the current financial year.
"We await the UK Government's Infrastructure Plan, which should further clarify the upgrades to the South East Wales Mainline, enabling increased timetable frequencies and stopping services at Severn Tunnel Junction.
The works undertaken to date and the proposed footbridge will ensure the infrastructure capacity is in place to support increased demand for park and ride services at this location."
Speaking previously to WalesOnline a Welsh Government[10] spokeswoman said: "We are moving forward with the recommendations made by Lord Burns to improve transport in southeast Wales, including securing funding to complete the next stage of enhancing the South Wales Mainline and building new and improved stations on it.
These improvements are helping to encourage more people to make the switch from car to rail but as with any change this will take time."
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