Railwatch 081 - October 1999

North Wales - Gogledd Cymru

By Dave Sallery

Take two The Welsh Assembly has called in a planning application for a multiplex cinema at Llandudno Junction. RDS had objected because the plans offered no pedestrian access from the adjacent rail station. We believe good rail access could avoid many car journeys from as far away as Holyhead.

New trains The first Class 175 train for FNW is under trial. FNW hopes to have at least one set in use by the millennium with elimination of loco-hauled trains by Easter. The branch hopes replacing five-coach (in summer) and four-coach (in winter) trains by two and three-car Class 175s will not lead to overcrowding. There are signs that FNW won't be able to run its promised North Wales-London trains because Railtrack can't supply the paths on the West Coast Main Line. If the idea is dropped, the branch will be expecting some major innovations in lieu of those services, which are cast-iron franchise commitments.

Fare offers First North Western has introduced a series of "two for one" and "four for two" fare offers to and from Chester. The offer is subject to severe time restrictions.

Dublin swift Another fast ferry service to Ireland has been introduced. B & I now sails to Dublin Ferryport up to five times a day. Rail passengers will however find the Stena service more convenient. B & I travel requires changing to a bus at each end of the journey. Holyhead now sees up to 10 sailings a day to Ireland, a far cry from the service offered in the past. There is no sign as yet of the return of rail freight traffic to Holyhead.

More roads Construction of the new dual carriageway across Anglesey has commenced. Its completion will see the North Wales coast line paralleled by a fast road along its entire length.

Trains to Caernarfon The branch is arranging a meeting with the newly elected Welsh Assembly members in the area to gauge their support for the reopening plan. The recently approved Welsh Highland Railway extension to Porthmadog can, we hope, only add momentum to this project.

Sigh of relief The North Wales Coast service has got back to normal since First North Western scrapped most of its London services. Last summer a two-car Class 101 DMU, more than 40 years old, was used for an express diagram on the coast, many trains were filthy and punctuality was below par. Now most workings are handled by Class 158 and 156 units plus several loco-hauled sets. An extra loco hauled diagram has also been introduced following the Winsford crash which has seen FNW short of class 142 Pacer trains.

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