The railway line from Carmarthen via Lampeter und Tregaron to Aberysywth:
On the importance of re-opening the missing link between Cardiff/Swansea/Pembroke via Lampeter/Aberystwyth and Bangor/Holyhead/Llandudno for Wales
This map shows the railways in west and SW Wales at the time of the Great Western Railway. You can clearly see the closed railway line between Carmarthen via Lampeter and Tregaron to Aberystwyth. (red lines are operated by the GWR, small black lines by other railway companies).
Why is this railway line important?
This railwat line is important! The re-opening is long overdue. For almost 10 years, I live in one of those towns along the closed railway line. Communities along the former railway line are suffering For years, people are frustrated that the raiway was closed and whoever you talk to, we all know how necessary it is, how much easier our lives would be, not to mention the impact on poverty in this part of Wales!
You just need to go on a journey to see the advantages of a smooth train ride compared to the journey by car:
Have you ever travelled on the road from Carmarthen via Lampeter and Tregaron to Aberystwyth? It takes roughly two and half hours by bus, but only if you take the bus that avoid Tregaron - and this bus, the "T1" currently only runs every two hours! Tregaron is even more difficult to reach by public transport.
By car, you "only" need 90 minutes on the shortest route, if you're lucky. Nice journey, a bit like a roller coaster tour: constantly going up and down, hardly any straight road, over each hill and mountain, through countless villages that suffer from the pollution, the noise and the traffice! Luckily speed limits in some of these many villages will be reduced to 20 miles per hour soon.
Let us first focus on the local importance for the people in northern Carmarthenshire and in Ceredigion:
Why do you think places like Lampeter University have so many difficulties to recruit students? Inter alia, because students don't want to go on a 75 minute bus trip from the nearest railway station to there campus! (or on a 75 min. bus trip just to go to the nearest cinema!).
How much developent has taken place in the towns along the line since the railway close, like Tregaron or Llanybydder? Virtually nothing!!!
And local people, who get better paid jobs in towns like Swansea hardly have a choice than to move away from this part of Ceredigion or Carmarthenshire since it is not viable to commute, though there are some people do this by car every day, adding to the traffice, congestion and pollution.
What about businesses? Which company will chose to invest here? And which county council will permit new companies to settle here if it just puts more and more cars and lorries on the already congested mountainous roads.
Not to mention the impact for tourism, which is a major source of income for many people in West and Mid Wales. We just see this with the Eisteddfod in Tregaron: people could easily travel there on a railway line that should have been reopened when power was devolved to Wales more than 20 years ago.
Importance for Wales!
This railway line is not only of regional importance, but it will also serve as backbone for transport in Wales if it is done properly
It will provide the missing link for a north-south route that connects Northern Wales (Llandudno/Holyhead/Bangor) with the South of Wales (Fishguard/Pembroke/Swansea/Cardiff)
And if done properly, it will be more than viable and will trigger more and more investment across the whole of Ceredigion and northern Sir Gâr.
and some impressions - past and present - of the line from Carmarhen via Lampeter to Aberystwyth.
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