Moving Blaenau Ffestiniog station?

[Bletchleyite]

Come across this article on a friend's FB:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/no...tZDKertBM96_hLMw57JoIayZqTR_VG9pw-rNiyyCf3HcI

The train station at Blaenau Ffestiniog should be moved to a new site closer to the A470, to accommodate more tourists.

That is the suggestion put forward by the chairman of the Ffestiniog Railway company, as Transport for Wales (TfW) looks for ideas on how to spend £1 million on improve the existing town centre station.

This is part of a wider £194 million upgrade of railway stations across the network, made after KeolisAmey's won the bid for the TfW franchise.

The current station serves the scenic Conwy Valley line and the popular narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway which opened in its current form in 1982.

But John Prideaux, chairman of the Ffestiniog Railway Company, believes this location is unsuitable for an upgraded facility.

Writing in the current issue of the Ffestiniog Railway magazine Mr Prideaux, a former British Rail executive, says the scheme provides a new opportunity to create a "catalyst for change".

In essence there is a proposal by the FfR to move the joint station out of town to an area where a larger car park can be built. I'm not sure where - perhaps just outside the tunnel near the Zip World site (which might at least mean one or two more passengers going there - it almost might be worth adding a basic station to the Valley there anyway for that purpose, it probably brings in more visitors than the town does).

But it seems unlikely to me...the town is already very run-down and taking tourists out of it would kill off a lot of what is left. There's also a large and underused car park opposite the present station anyway, it's pay and display but if made free[1] would easily serve that purpose.

It also suggests the option of an island platform on the present site with one track for each - that might make more sense, even if it means Valley charters have to be top and tailed and a reversing "siding" past the present platform is required for the DMU when a charter does come down?

[1] I was driving through Yorkshire yesterday and stopped at Clapham village for a quick wee. I was quite impressed that there were 10 minute free parking spaces by the loos - but the fact that staying longer than that was chargeable meant I didn't spend money in local businesses while I was there, more because of the faff of finding change and paying than the cost, for what it's worth...

 

[Llandudno]

TfW are supposed to be spending £1m+ on the station for six trains a day, or six Rail Replacement buses per day!

There is no attempt to try and coordinate bus/rail interchange at Blaenau Station.

Eg.
The 35 bus from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Dolgellau departs at 1135
Guess what time the Conwy Valley train arrives 1135!!

Next bus 2+ hours later. Unbelievable!

 

[Bletchleyite]

The 35 bus from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Dolgellau departs at 1135
Guess what time the Conwy Valley train arrives 1135!!

Next bus 2+ hours later. Unbelievable!

Yes, this is ridiculous in a rural area. Though to some extent it's a bit hard to do with a hotch-potch timetable - if only they could get it to 2-hourly clockface it would be much, much easier.

To be fair there are lines with a less frequent service! But anyway let's not rehash the closure debate on this thread, this was more about moving the station.

 

[Llandudno]

Crikey, I am not advocating closure, just trying to encourage more usage with improved bus connectivity!

Much better use of money than a posh station at the end of a branch line.

The refurbishment at Llandudno Station is fantastic, shame they close it off to passengers at 3pm, just before all the day trippers are returning home waiting for their trains!

 

[alex17595]

I'm not sure where - perhaps just outside the tunnel near the Zip World site (which might at least mean one or two more passengers going there - it almost might be worth adding a basic station to the Valley there anyway for that purpose, it probably brings in more visitors than the town does).
.

I doubt there's enough room for the FR to go down as far as the tunnel with a station without moving the NR line over or an at-grade crossing.l

I'd personally rather they just remodel the existing station into an island platform with NR on one side and FR on the other.

I took a couple of photos of the area back in 2016.

This one is looking down towards the tunnel


This one looks from the site of the old Dinas station in a southerly direction. I think this would be the best place to add a station. A large platform in the centre with the current curve on the NR side and a straighter side on the FR side. There is a handy piece of land (which used to be a slate tip) for a car park.


I have included below and image of the railways in that area the Ffestiniog Railway wikipedia.
https://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/Glan_y_Pwll

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd personally rather they just remodel the existing station into an island platform with NR on one side and FR on the other.

Yes, I agree. Access to that platform, which could have improved shared facilities, could then be via a footbridge at the north end plus on the level (with manual gates for a headshunt/DMU siding) at the bus station end. There's already, as I mentioned, a good-sized Council car park with toilets on the other side of the main road which I've never noticed as being full or anywhere near it.

(That said, too much more flooding and the FfR will have it to themselves )

 

[Parham Wood]

A cross platform interchange would be an interesting challenge since the standard and narrow gauges use different platform heights. Splitting the island platform into would not leave enough room for the crowds that come off the narrow gauge. If the whole station was remodelled and a wider platform created then this would be more feasible but this would be with the loss of either the standard gauge run round loop or a second narrow gauge platform face which could lead to operating issues in the event trains are delayed. But could this be overcome by combing the narrow gauge and standard gauge run round loops into a dual gauge track? It would need some fancy trackwork and signalling.

The town itself has been improving recently with the additional income brought by the zip line attraction. It hardly looks run down now compared to say five years ago when it was ghastly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A cross platform interchange would be an interesting challenge since the standard and narrow gauges use different platform heights

Not really, you just need to either build the ballast up on the narrow gauge side or dig down on the standard gauge side, whichever is easier (I suspect it might be the latter). There are examples of this kind of interchange all over Switzerland.

FfR have, if you read the article, accepted the loss of their second platform line if it gives them cross platform interchange with the mainline (it didn't have any track for long enough in the 1990s and I don't think I've ever seen them have two trains there). I don't think the standard gauge runaround loop is important at all, you could just top and tail charters and have a short (say 3 x 23m for futureproofing) "headshunt" at the far end that a DMU could be locked in while a charter visited the branch.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The town itself has been improving recently with the additional income brought by the zip line attraction. It hardly looks run down now compared to say five years ago when it was ghastly.

If it was viable to put in a cheap platform near the tunnel to serve that (or fund a shuttle bus from the existing station) that would bring in some custom...

 

[alex17595]

Not really, you just need to either build the ballast up on the narrow gauge side or dig down on the standard gauge side, whichever is easier (I suspect it might be the latter). There are examples of this kind of interchange all over Switzerland.

FfR have, if you read the article, accepted the loss of their second platform line if it gives them cross platform interchange with the mainline (it didn't have any track for long enough in the 1990s and I don't think I've ever seen them have two trains there). I don't think the standard gauge runaround loop is important at all, you could just top and tail charters and have a short (say 3 x 23m for futureproofing) "headshunt" at the far end that a DMU could be locked in while a charter visited the branch.

If they really wanted a run around they could make the FR dual gauge through the station.

If it was viable to put in a cheap platform near the tunnel to serve that (or fund a shuttle bus from the existing station) that would bring in some custom...

I doubt it would be worth it. It's still a real slog up the hill to the attractions (Zips lines/mountain biking) and with Snowdonia travel being car based unless the service was more frequent you'd just use the bus.

There was talk of reinstating the incline the Llechwedd as a tourist attraction - I could see there being a FR station if this comes to fruition.

 

[Jona26]

Well today it looks like the "station" has been moved...

Until the line reopens, buses will replace trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog. However, due to the fire service dealing with an incident at Blaenau Ffestiniog, replacement buses will pick up set down on the town's outskirts and staff will escort passengers between the station and the bus which will be a 15 minute walk approximately. This is expected to continue until the end of the day today, Tuesday 23 April.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/today.aspx

 

[Llanigraham]

The town itself has been improving recently with the additional income brought by the zip line attraction. It hardly looks run down now compared to say five years ago when it was ghastly.

Quite!! I do wonder how often some people visit from their comments. We have friends who live there and run businesses there and they certainly tell a different story to what some here imply.

And a few people seem to be jumping to conclusions (as usual!).
This is not the view of the Ffestiniog Railway, but the views of one person who happens to be their Chairman. And it is reported in a paper that is well known in the area as being "inventive".

 

[bramling]

If it was viable to put in a cheap platform near the tunnel to serve that (or fund a shuttle bus from the existing station) that would bring in some custom...

Not sure I can imagine all the biddies on the FR going on the zip wire!

To be fair, I don’t really have much of an issue with the present arrangements. The car park opposite is near enough, and seems to have plenty of space, and it’s barely 2 minutes across the road. Apart from being slightly minimal, the current facilities are quite adequate.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well today it looks like the "station" has been moved...

Rail replacement bus replacement walk!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not sure I can imagine all the biddies in the FR going on the zip wire!

I meant the Valley rather than the FfR, though that did conjure up an amusing image!

To be fair, I don’t really have much of an issue with the present arrangements. The car park opposite is near enough, and seems to have plenty of space, and it’s barely 2 minutes across the road. Apart from being slightly minimal, the current facilities are quite adequate.

I'd agree, and money has been spent on making the bus turnaround tidier than it was.

 

[bramling]

I meant the Valley rather than the FfR, though that did conjure up an amusing image!



I'd agree, and money has been spent on making the bus turnaround tidier than it was.

A browse through Trip adviser on the Ffestiniog can be quite amusing. I’m possibly a little biased as it’s one of my favourite railways, however they seem to get quite a bit of negativity in the reviews (second only to the Snowdon Mountain Railway). Gripes range from “nothing at the other end”, to moans about dogs on trains at the same time as others moan about lack of dog facilities, others complaining that the trip is very expensive, and also lots of moans about trees blocking the view. I’m not sure what people expect to find at the Ffestiniog end, and the railway often gives as good as it gets when replying to reviews, one amusing one was where someone gripes about the journey being unaffordable and they pointed out that no one forced them to travel the whole distance!

I find the Ffestiniog pretty much perfect, the only thing I wish is that they would be a little more consistent with attaching the old “lock up” carriages, which personally I much prefer to the more modern ones, not least as the compartments offer privacy. Ffestiniog is for sure a run-down town, but that’s part of its heritage.

 

[alex17595]

I wonder if it will really make much of a difference to people not having to walk an extra 100 yard between trains. There's enough facilities nearby - big car park over the road with toilets and a shop next to it.

 

[whhistle]

Having a better link to the slate mine may also help.
I started walking towards it last year but the lack of a footpath in certain places wasn't great.
Better signage (for pedestrians) would help this area too.

 

[Chezni]

TfW are supposed to be spending £1m+ on the station for six trains a day, or six Rail Replacement buses per day!

There is no attempt to try and coordinate bus/rail interchange at Blaenau Station.

Eg.
The 35 bus from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Dolgellau departs at 1135
Guess what time the Conwy Valley train arrives 1135!!

Next bus 2+ hours later. Unbelievable!

There are plans in the pipeline to retime 35 bus to connect with train at Blaenau. Other Bus/Rail connections are also being looked at railheads across region