Railway plans on track
Plans for a new station for a popular heritage railway are on track for opening in just over a year.
At the moment passengers travelling from Llangollen to Corwen have to get off at a temporary halt just outside the town at the end of the line.
But volunteers working on the Llangollen Railway Trust’s major civil engineering project to build a new terminal station near to the town centre at Corwen say there are half way to completion. When finished the new Welsh station will boast a piece of railway history from Shropshire.
The former Weston Rhyn signalbox is to be restored and rebuilt as part of the project. and fencing from Gobowen station has already been used.
George Jones from the railway trust said: "The really big work element in the summer and autumn of 2017 was to excavate the northern side of the embankment to a depth of 10 feet and construct the foundations for the eventual installation of the signalbox which awaits restoration in the yard at Carrog station. This work has cost in excess of £35k and was essential to allow the embankment to be extended to provide for the location of the points to the station loop lines and access to a siding.
"Most of this work was undertaken by the team of volunteers, with an average age of 68, aided by contractors when specific skills and equipment were required. The estimated value of the volunteer hours input to this project exceeds £200k, without which the project would be unaffordable. Aside from grant aid provided by the Welsh Government’s European development fund for rural Wales, paying 80 per cent of the cost of the platform, the remainder is being raised through donations and share purchase in Llangollen Railway plc.
Project leader, Richard Dixon-Gough, said: “In the New Year we will install the foundations for the water tower then work on platform one with an accessible ramp for wheel chair access is being built at the western end.
"We hope that trains will run into Corwen Central in the early part of 2019 with trains continuing to use the temporary platform in 2018."
General Manager, Liz McGuinness said: "The temporary station has served us well since it opened in 2014, but has always been recognised as inconvenient and it lacks the immediacy of access to and from the town centre and car park. Terminating trains at a station central to the town, will attract more passengers from north west Wales to the Llangollen Railway and help bring extra visitors to Corwen."
