The Welsh Assembly Government has announced that up to £1.4m of funding annually is being made available to enable five additional trains to run between Fishguard and Carmarthen.
Starting in September, the extra trains will provide more than double the service, currently just two trains run to Fishguard every day, that serve the Fishguard branch that leaves the main line at Clarbeston Road.
Consultation with the community will commence in April and Arriva will examine how the new services can best connect with the rest of the rail network.
Once the trains have been running for three years a further study will be carried out to identify demand and passenger numbers.
The lack of trains to Fishguard came to national attention in 2009 when a petition was started by Joanne Griffiths and Sam Faulkner, two teenagers who were determined that rail connections for rural north Pembrokeshire communities would be put on the political agenda.
The announcement took everyone by surprise. It’s a u-turn by the Welsh Government which a year ago declared the reopening would be “premature”.nStill, we won’t look a pre-election gift horse (or train) in the mouth. A three-year trial puts the onus on the community to use the new service. fishguardtrains.info is a brand new web service to promote use of the line and informed comment on how it’s run. See you there!