The Gwili Railway thread

I tend to agree. See my earlier comments on the scheme as it stands, but you've missed my point in respect of that last one. Google 'Cantre'r Gwaelod' ....

 

If the Bodmin railway is still going to put track to wadebridge they may be interested in the track as they will probably put new track through like at the oakhamptom line but hopefully the gwili railway can stay instead. They should be spend time on better ideas than making railways close and stopping silly things like love island happening when there’s covid going on

 

Disappointing post. The WG have their faults, but they stand up for us. I dread to think what it was like pre 1999.

 

Politics in Wales has always had a complex history. One of the big issues with the Assembly is that no party has ever commanded a significant majority. Hence Labour voters end up with PC policies on a number of occasions. The options have ranged from coalition to more informal arrangements since formation in 1999. PC wish to move Wales towards more independence while the UK Government don’t want to concede any ground in that respect. Very much a stalemate.


regards

Matt

 

I've absolutely no involvement with (or understanding of the finer points of) Welsh politics, but have noticed a considerable increase in investment in towns which, Bob knows, have been screaming out for something, since the near total collapse of the industrial base over the past 50/60/70 years.

 

yes that has happened but then Wales has received a lot of EU funding based on their formulae for”poorer per head” regions. Wales of course voted for Brexit.

According to this link Wales received around £375m per year through this source.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-59147579.amp

 

Back on topic - Lights of the Valley incorporating Santa’s Magic Steamings are in full swing.

 

It's not just about journey times, though. Not everyone can drive, or wants to, even in remote rural areas. My Grandfather lives in rural Carmarthenshire and lives in fear of losing his licence. And that's before we get started on the carbon emissions of car use. We need viable alternatives.

Tourism might also benefit from improved North-South connections. West Wales is rapidly becoming "the new Cornwall" and many tourist attractions in Mid/North Wales might benefit if those tourists could more easily travel further north.

That said, I accept that rail travel is not necessarily the best option in rural areas, due to the high operating costs and lack of flexibility. But better bus services - both local and long-distance - might well be worth investigating.

Sent from my SM-A125F using Tapatalk

 

To make the rail service useful for non car users you need lots of stations, but stations slow trains down. Areas are so sparsely populated most people would still be driving to the station. There are far more pressing needs for infrastructure in wales with a higher ROI whether it be social, economic or environmental. In reality rural diesel trains are not particularly environmentally friendly! Let alone the embedded co2 in building the railway for a small number of people.

 

More useful to reinstate a line from Cardiff thru Newport up to Wrecsam. See Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/327600604971571/permalink/337825313949100

 

But if you draw back in the double-track mainline that already connects Hereford, Craven Arms and Wrexham, you'd have a lot of people thinking there were better ways of spending the money required, than recreating a slow and winding single-track line that passes through lightly populated countryside.

Brecon is possibly overdue being reconnected though, and the line would mostly follow a valley, although would even this stand up on a cost-benefit analysis?

 

Though I agree Moat Lane seems to present a less illogical case than the current TRAWSLINK (South) proposal, that still doesn't make it logical (!) and I couldn't help noticing the result of some in depth surveying between Talybont and Y Fenni, which looks a tad on the expensive side!

Would either route even recoup operating costs, let alone repay capital investment? Unless any reopening removed significant traffic from the roads network, what on earth is the point? Would either affect someone living in or around Bala or Dolgellau? Well, yes .... there'd be less money in the pot to subsidise local bus services. Anyone care to argue that point?

Population-wise, some context:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_localities_in_Wales_by_population
Think of a Welsh railway station, open or closed that you know and see where it comes on that list.

Away from the cities and (realtively) larger towns and villages, the population is sparse and diffuse. In reality, much of the time, even timetabled bus services look like a luxury. OK ..... that was the bad news.

Anyone who's seen my ramblings on EVs and clean tech won't be surprised to learn that, beyond buses, familiar but for battery or hydrogen fuel cell power, a class of driverless automated vehicles is coming into existence. I've seen a prototype example by Renault, which accommodates around 12, though anything from car sized to bus sized is possible.

The general upshot of that being, you'll be able to plumb your location and destination into an 'App', which whistles up a vehicle on demand. Ditto the return journey. Between scheduled bus routes and a virtual taxi service comes the possibility of services able to leave a fixed core route to serve outlying dwellings. Clearly not as fast as car journeys, sufficient leeway could be built into the core timetable, which would evolve to reflect actual uptake, to make it do-able.

Obviously, much needs doing to the roads to make this practical, but the technical issues are already largely solved.

Surely the ability to connect the most remote dwellings with the fullest number of diverse destinations has to represent a far better investment than a fixed railway route? Were I an elected politician, responsible for transport provision, I'd be concerned with not being remembered as the idiot who flushed a few billion down the crapper and left the bulk of transport issues both unaddressed and (courtesy of those public funds spaffed away) crippling any future ability to solve 'em.

Anyhoo ..... that's my take on it. Anyone else fancy a go?

 

Fantastic! The reviews have all been amazing, congratulations to all. Hopefully this Christmas has been a nice little earner for the railway, ready to go into 2022.

 

Much does need to be done to the roads. About 3 years ago, I had the misfortune to be on a train which broke down at Machynlleth on its way to Porthmadog. A replacement bus was provided but at least 3 passengers were suffering the effects of travel sickness caused by the twisty nature of the roads. the atmosphere in the vehicle was most unpleasant.
I am a frequent visitor to North Wales but avoid buses because of this experience. car or train are the only practical means of comfortable travel.

 

I can sympathise. As a youngster, I suffered from travel sickness in cars and coaches. Always needed to stop at least once for me to make a dive for the undergrowth ..... not fun! I well remember too, when our trusty old RT buses gave way to the new Scanias, their rolling gait caused many to go green around the gills. Their tendency to sit back under hard acceleration was pretty disconcerting too!

Other than overcrowding, I only recall two horrific experiences on trains in over sixty years. On the FfR, carriage 116 when new desperately lacked ventilation. It was verily like unto a bl##dy oven in the heat of 1973. The journey back from Dduallt was enjoyed in a 'bug box'! The other was occasioned by a quite stomach churning whiff from the original brake pads on the early HSTs under hard braking.

Not having yet ridden one, I can't vouch for the ride on the sort of autonomous EV referenced in my OP, but even with far superior ride (of anything other than a Pacer), the horrid truth that heavy rail is way too expensive and inflexible a solution for sparsely populated areas stands.

 

Anyone on here connected with the Gwili Vintage Carriage Group?
I am asking because they used to have a website at https://gvcg.co.uk/ but it seems to have been broken for at least the last couple of weeks. I would hope they already know, but perhaps anyone with a suitable contact could enquire if it is going to be fixed?

 

https://welshrailwaytrust.wales/en_gb/services/

Gvcg now part of welsh railway trust

 

yes correct. The Gwili Vintage Carriage Group has now amalgamated into the “Welsh Railway Trust”.

regards

Matt

 

Thank you for the info and the link (Which I wasn't aware of previously).
Will update my Websites Database accordingly.

 

Could someone either shut down the old website or, preferably, cause it to redirect to the current one?