Llangollen’s five- year plan to ‘ future proof’ railway

THELlangollenRailway ( LR) hasunveiled aplanbyindependentconsultants which suggestswaystosecurethe futureof thelineoverafive- year period. CommissionedbytheLRwith grant assistance fromCadwynClwyd, the local ruraldevelopmentagency, theplan looks at allactivitiescarriedoutbythe LRTrustandits trading arm, Llangollen Railway plc.

In order for the railway to be‘ fit to fight’, in a competitive environment, for external funding and support, requires moderngovernance and organisational arrangements.

The report states that“the scale of change required is substantial,” and that a“significant restructure of the boards is needed.”

Boardmembers should be chosen for both their ability to act as leaders in agreed specialist areas; have a focus on driving change; and who have strong conciliation and brokering skills, having well developed motivational andmanagement capability. This will be driven by a new, externally recruited chairman, who will leadboth boards.

Once appointed, the incoming chairman and the general managerwill together spearhead the implementation of the report’s recommendations.

While it has been decided to cease further outside contract locomotive engineering work, the report recommends the preparation of an investment plan to reorganise and upgrade the current facilities at Llangollen to improve operational efficiency.

It states:“The layout and facilities are not optimised for railway engineering use.

“Expansion or substantive redevelopment on this site is not realistic due to established adjacent uses and likely planning restrictions.

“A plan to improve the operational efficiency of the complex and to reorganise the yard is considered to be the pragmatic way forward.

“Inorder to achieve these improvements, however, the scale of operation may need to be reduced, which could result in a reduction in contract engineering provision. The trade- off may be slightly less of such work, but an ability toundertake more complex refurbishment activity.”

It also advises that options should be considered for expanding the carriage andwagonworks on its current site at Pentrefelin.“The current facility has no dedicatedpaint shop, which makes the achievement of high painting standards difficult.

“There is sufficient land for a larger replacement facility tobebuilt on this site – recent examples elsewherebeing that at the

Bluebell Railway.”

Calling for Llangollen station to be refurbished, the report states:“As the placewhere the majority of visitors arrive, the complex has a poor sense of arrival, clutter and inadequate facilities that are not fit for purpose.”

Other recommendations include:

■ TheLRtochangeitsnameto‘ The Llangollen toCorwenRailway’to emphasisethenewterminus location.

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“We aim to build

a robust and sustainable railway, we need a new

outlook...”

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