Let’s promote the Great Big Trains of Wales too!

NORTH Wales AM Mark Isherwood has raised calls for the Welsh Government to join up its support for the principality’s heritage railways of all gauges.

Speaking in the Welsh Parliament on March 17, Mr Isherwood told Baroness Morgan of Ely, the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language, of the benefits such a move would have for tourism and the local economy.

He said: “I recently had the pleasure of revisiting Llangollen Railway’s major engineering project at Corwen Central station, which will have a massive impact on boosting tourism in the region, to see first-hand the progress they had made. I’m always amazed and massively impressed by what a group of volunteers with an average age of 68, working on a parttime basis, are able to achieve.

“A year ago, speaking here, I called for a Welsh Government (WG) statement on support for our standard gauge heritage railways. We know and applaud the fact that the WG supports narrow gauge heritage railways, but wanted to see how this massive volunteering effort could be taken forward, not only delivering heritage projects, but offering much for tourism and broader economies in areas, often, that need much stimulus.

“How, therefore, do you respond to the question or point raised with me during my recent visit that we need the WG to move on from looking at this in terms of separate narrow and standard gauge heritage railways, and join up the heritage railway sector both in North Wales and across Wales as a win-win for tourism and local economies? And, of course this is even more critical in the current environment.”

Responding, the Minister said: “I know that the amount of tourism and the number of tourists who are attracted by our narrow gauge and, as you say, our standard gauge railways, bring in significant finance into the economy of Wales. So, that is something that we hold dear. The enthusiasm for this sector is really something to behold, in particular the number of volunteers who give their time.

“It sounds like a good idea to put the narrow and standard gauge railways together in a promotional package. There may be some sensitivities around that, but that is something we can perhaps look at once this emergency (coronavirus outbreak) has quietened down.”