Cardigan News
Plan to extend railway
1:10pm Tuesday 31st January 2012
A NEW plan is being laid to extend the Teifi Valley Railway to Newcastle Emlyn.
The first step is a feasibility study and the Henllan based TVR is looking for public support to back its bid for initial funding from the EU Rural Development Fund, which is administered by Carmarthenshire County Council.
Backing from locals is already rolling in, says the TVR’s Elizabeth Perry.
“There has been an amazing positive reaction so far. The more community backing we have the better. We need that to make the initial application for funding for the feasibility study,” she said.
Attempts to re-open the line from the Henllan depot to Newcastle Emlyn have all hit the buffers in recent years. The line was axed under the Beeching closures in 1963.
TVR runs the steam railway from the former Henllan goods depot to Pentrecwrt, which attracts visitors from a wide area.
The group has now been told by Carmarthenshire that money may be available to fund an engineers' feasibility study, which would produce designs for a replacement bridge, the main thing holding up plans to extend the line to Newcastle Emlyn.
The old bridge is near to Pentrecagal and would have to be replaced. The railway currently runs from Henllan to the bridge. Another mile of track would be needed to extend the line from there to Newcastle Emlyn.
The TVR owns the land from the Alltycafan Bridge near Pentrecwrt to the edge of the business park at Newcsastle Emlyn.
Work is ongoing to develop footpaths alongside the track from Henllan to Llandyfriog, with the help of the Forestry Commission.
*To back the bid for funding for the feasibility study write to TVR at Henllan Station, Henllan SA44 5TD.