17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 20:11 will no longer call at Hanborough, Charlbury, Shipton and Kingham.
It is being delayed at London Paddington.
This is due to a road vehicle colliding with a bridge.
Last Updated:04/12/2024 18:19

Trains: £2bn to re-open Carmarthen to Bangor lines

Re-opening railway lines that were shut in the 1960s and have left large towns without a direct rail link would cost £2bn, Transport for Wales has said.

TfW looked at the line between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion and Afon Wen and Bangor in Gwynedd.

Chief executive James Price said it would be "very costly" to develop and "difficult" to implement.

Campaigners have said it was unclear how the rail operator got that figure as all studies had not yet been done.

Under the Welsh Labour government's co-operation deal with Plaid Cymru, TfW was asked to examine how transport links between the north and south could be developed

That included a potential travel corridor along the coast from Carmarthen to Bangor, with TfW looking at re-connecting the disused rail routes between Bangor and Afon Wen - about 28 miles.

Since the closure of the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line, taking the train between the two towns - which are just 49 miles apart - takes seven hours.

Owned by the Welsh government, TfW has been responsible for train services across much of Wales since 2018.



In a letter to a Senedd committee, Mr Price said TfW looked at a "wide-ranging assessment to examine how accessibility and connectivity can be improved on the west coast of Wales".

He said the options offered shorter journey times but were "very costly to develop and implement".

A north to south rail scheme would "likely to cost circa £2bn and would take over 10 years to deliver".

He added: "Therefore, these are all difficult to realise, even as a light rail scheme. The case for Bangor - Caernarfon/Afon Wen was stronger due to shorter route length and higher demand."

Transport expert Prof Stuart Cole said the plans did not offer value for money.

He said: "As someone who lives in Llanelli, nothing would please me more than to go by train via Carmarthen to Aberystwyth. But it doesn't have a sufficiently high rate of return in financial terms.

"The number of people living in the area of the planned route is too small for an investment of this size."

People in Carmarthen supported the idea, but questioned whether it was viable.

Margaret Jones said: "I know it makes sense for the businesses each end but it's a lot of money to pay for that especially as there are so many people living on the streets... that money could be better spent."

Branwen Evans said it would be "great" if it went ahead, but doubts it will "as it will cost too much".

Former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price believes it could be paid for from spending on the HS2 rail project in England.

"We can do that of course if HS2 is re-registered as being an England-only project, which it is," the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Member of the Senedd said.

"Even HS2 as it now exists we would get sufficient money invested in Wales so we could achieve this national important project."

Mark Davies from campaign group Traws Link Cymru said he was "surprised" at the comments made by TfW.

He said: "It should be noted that scoping and feasibility studies are yet to be completed for the northern section of the line and therefore it is not clear how TfW have arrived at the £2bn total cost."

TAU?

I hope the all-day couple/uncouple arrangement works out in practice. A Sprinter covering something would snarl it up!

I wonder if there's any scope to swap the arrangement so the 3 car portion goes past Swansea and then ends up on Cardiffs in between. With most other routes in theory going up to an appropriate new baseline train length (CDF-HHD 3 car, CDF-MAN 5 car etc) the off-hour Cardiff-West journeys are a bit of an anomoly being stuck with 2 cars. Swapping the arrangement would mean more 3 car (with Standard Plus) diagrams in total, as some will be locked into West Wales cycles at any one time. I can see why the extras aren't attaching/detaching at Swansea - it would otherwise involve having two sets couple/uncouple movements going on at the same time each hour, and either very tight movements or having overlapping layovers, none of which is good for resilience. Maybe once things have settled down the 'extras' could have a separate routine of attaching/detaching a 2 car set at CMN to make 4 cars.

Several 153 subs today, it seems, and a 150 on at least one Ebbw Vale diagram, which was doing the stepping-up thing that suggests availability is tight. So I am a bit concerned about how there will suddenly be an increase in availability! Especially with 150s starting to be withdrawn now AIUI. 756s are starting to appear; only 1 diagram on today, as far as I could see, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a dramatic increase in the next few weeks. That would help to cascade some 150s to the Valleys routes currently operated with 153s, which would then help to cover the SWML locals etc until 197 availability improves. Most of the Pembrokes seem to be 197s atm, for example, so they could be released if covered by 153s per previous plans.

A £15m regional cycling hub catering for people of all abilities could be built near the M5 motorway.

Bristol City Council has started a consultation into the facility in Lawrence Weston, near Kings Weston Avenue.

The proposed hub at Henacre Open Space could replace the Bristol Family Cycling Centre in Hengrove, which closed to make way for housing

Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport and connectivity committee, said: "This is an opportunity to build a fantastic traffic-free environment dedicated to cycling."

He added: "It would put Bristol on the map for regional and national youth series cycling competitions, and we could also offer employment, training opportunities, and community programmes."

The new hub could include areas to learn to ride, a 1km (0.6 mile) competition track, a car park, and improved connections to the local cycle network.



Thousands of campaigners are opposing plans to build flats at the current cycling site, which will become part of the Hengrove Park housing estate.

"We're keen to find out how people would use the proposed cycling hub and want to hear from residents in the surrounding area as well as those across Bristol," said Mr Plowden.

A planning application for the hub is expected to be submitted in spring 2025.

It is hoped the scheme will be paid for through the government's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement fund, which will be secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.

The consultation is running until the end of January

More details about the consultation's drop-in events can be found on the city council website.

yes, indeed - I thought TonyK was referring to franchises, but re-reading refers to just rail.

"Consultants" are everywhere in Government, so I think they can be ignored for this exercise?

13:50 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 16:15 will now run as scheduled.
Last Updated:04/12/2024 13:13

16:32 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 19:29 will now run as scheduled.
Last Updated:04/12/2024 13:13

18:02 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 20:29 will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:04/12/2024 17:28

Quote from: grahame on Today at 08:57:59
And an interesting follow up in The Standard which includes an interview with Heidi Alexander - there's a lot there - quotes to follow.

Which TOCs won't be?