Rail campaign on cloud nine as new TV documentary takes to the skies to examine the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line
An upcoming documentary will take a fresh look at the remains of the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway line, promising viewers unforgettable vistas of a railway which once directly connected the north and south of Wales and closed to passengers 60 years ago.
‘Abandoned Railways from Above’ is a new series by Channel 4 which takes a bird’s eye view of several closed railways in the UK, mapping out former routes in their current state and exploring the areas the lines passed through.
The fourth programme in the series visits various points of interest along the former Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line, including the work sheds of the Rheidol Railway, Trawscoed Mansion, Strata Florida Abbey, the former Pont Llanio creamery, a restored woollen mill in Cynwyl Elfed, as well as the Gwili Steam Railway.
Traws Link Cymru has been campaigning for the reintroduction of the line for over a decade, in which time a scoping study and a full feasibility study have been published by the Welsh Government.
Chairman Mike Walker said, “We couldn’t be more grateful to Channel 4 for choosing to explore this line as part of their new series. The footage speaks for itself as to how beautiful the former line from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen was, and despite our best efforts to film the line from above using our own drone, the professional photography of the production team has left us in awe.”
“This is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on this line, combining topographical footage with contributions from former railway staff, historians, and local business owners.”
“Viewers will be able to see for themselves just how vital – and feasible – reopening this line will be. After eleven years of campaigning, the next train departing from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen has never felt closer.”
TLC committee member and former Mayor of Aberystwyth Dylan Wilson-Lewis, who was interviewed in the documentary, added, “It was a privilege to be part of the programme, and being given exclusive access to Pencader Tunnel was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Abandoned Railways from Above: Aberystwyth to Carmarthen is broadcast on Channel 4 on Saturday, 12 October at 20:20.
ENDS.
CROESO TO THE EISTEDDFOD – CARS AND BUSES ONLY
THOUSANDS of people will flock to Pen Llŷn (Llŷn Peninsula) for the National Eisteddfod of Wales at the beginning of August – most of them in cars or buses.
The fact of the matter is that there is no existing rail service – or even tracks – to connect most people in east Wales with cities, towns and villages in West Wales.
So, most of the 150,000 competitors and visitors travelling to the small village of Boduan, near Pwllheli, between August 5-12, will have to use cars, buses or taxis to arrive and travel around the area.
The nearest train station is Pwllheli (Cambrian Railway) and Bangor (main train line along north Wales). The only problem with the Cambrian railway links from Aberystwyth and Machynlleth is that they are very slow.
It’s a three-and-a-half-hour journey from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli by train – about an hour and a half by car.
Unfortunately, there are no trains going from Bangor to Caernarfon or on to Pwllheli – and there is certainly no connection to Boduan. The line was closed in 1972 and the connection between Caernarfon and Afon Wen.
Although it will not be easy for everyone to travel to the Eisteddfod this year, remember to support the Traws Link Cymru (TLC) campaign to reintroduce rail links in west Wales so that will have decent connections as soon as possible.
NOTE FOR EDITORS: An on-line petition calling for the reopening of the railway lines from Bangor to Caernarfon and on to Afonwen as well as from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen attracted over 11,000 signatures in just a few months.
Now that the petition has exceeded 10,000 signatures it is likely to be debated at the Senedd in Cardiff.
A Feasibility Study for the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line, completed in 2018, showed no significant obstacles to reopening, and the Senedd debate could lead to further feasibility assessments for the northern sections of the railway link.
Reopening the line between Bangor and Caernarfon has been included in Wales’ Transport Strategy for many years. And there is a very strong business case for this with through trains to Caernarfon from Manchester Airport, Cardiff and London giving easy access for visitors to the area and its world heritage status and for local people to travel to jobs along the coast.
Reinstating the track south from Caernarfon would greatly improve access to Penrhyn Llŷn (Peninsula) and the Cambrian Coast. Journeys such as Pwllheli to London would be possible in under four hours via Caernarfon compared with the current six hours via Machynlleth and Birmingham.
Similarly access to places such as Lampeter, Tregaron and the Teifi Valley would be much quicker via Swansea than is currently the case, thus opening West Wales and making North-South Wales journeys possible without going via England.
If any of your readers would like to join our campaign, please log on to trawslinkcymru.org.uk or donate to your crowdfunding campaign https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/trawslinkcymru2 or go on to our Facebook or Twitter or Instagram links.
For more information, please get in touch.