North west Wales metro

[Phil from Mon]

Mark Barry has some interesting ideas in a recent blog post, in particular using “adapted medium distance tram trains” on a route from Amlwch to Dolgellau, picking up several short-distance flows. He also discusses a potential new alignment to link Aberystwyth to South Wales via the Heart of Wales rather than through Caernarfon.

Full post including maps is https://swalesmetroprof.blog/2019/07/26/a-metro-in-north-west-wales/ and due to length only summarised in the quote.

North West Wales Metro
So here’s an idea for north west Wales which I would argue is poorly served by rail services:

• Slow and infrequent services on Cambrian Coast line

• No direct rail link between NWML and Cambrian line

• No rail services to settlements like Caernarfon and Dolgellau.

The region is relatively low in population; the local authorities of Gwynedd and Ynys Mon have a combined population of about 190,000 – this is about half that of Cardiff – Conway is a further 120,000. This population is also more dispersed with the main centres such as Bangor (20k), Menai Bridge (5k) Caernarfon (10k), Porthmadog (5k), Dolgellau (5k), Holyhead (12k), Conwy (5k) all being relatively small.

Figure 8 Rail Network in North West Wales

In considering a public transport service that provides a viable alternative to the car (rail, bus and active travel) I think we have to consider

• Faster connections in/out/across the region

• more “all stop local rail services” which given lower population and density needs to reflect demand profile

• Enhanced integration with bus services to connect rural and more isolated communities to the rail backbone

• Enhanced connectivity to key employment sites

Much more detail of the challenges and issues have been set out in the North Wales Joint Local Transport Plan[vii].

Clearly, the demographic profile is challenging when trying to deliver new rail services and new infrastructure and business cases are difficult to justify given lower demand and higher costs (capital and operating costs) associated with traditional Heavy Rail.


So what could we consider?
How about a new and innovative, “medium distance tram-train” service from Amlwch to Dolgellau Figure 9 which also connects Bangor, Caernarfon and Porthmadog. This would use a combination of existing HR rail, old alignments and some new sections as well as new stations. This would be a ~120km route providing connections to all stops using a tram-train vehicle specifically designed for medium distance routes such as this (toilets, higher proportion of seats, etc). Much of the route is already in place via the existing HR network or based on disused, but still available, alignments (e.g. to Amlwch); some sections will be more challenging (e.g. Bangor-Caernarfon-Porthmadog and Barmouth-Dolgellau) but not impossible.

[viii] identified a need for the NWML to be upgraded to support faster long distance services and new local “all stopper” commuter services between Holyhead and Llandudno. We can apply the same model now to the Cambrian Coast line as these proposals would allow the Cambrian coast service to become express (non-stop) between Porthmadog and Barmouth saving significant journey times to Machynlleth and Shrewsbury.

Once in place there is the opportunity to extend further south to Aberystwyth, use of tram-train on the Conwy line may enable an extension to Bala, etc.


More strategically, following WG Bus franchising measures[ix] we can seek to better integrate bus services into the “rail backbone” to provide a more joined up service across the region. The potential for “demand responsive transit” to be integrated into the overall public transport offer could really begin to provide an alternative to car use – even in rural areas.

 

[gazthomas]

Pipe dream, as pointed out in the proposal the population is very sparse indeed. Look how long its taken to get HS2 started and HS3 still needs a proper start not just commitments

 

[adrock1976]

Is Berry aware that the coast line is single track, with passing points being Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech, and Porthmadog/Portmadoc?

It would seem pointless eliminating stops as it is a single track line.

 

[30907]

Is Berry aware that the coast line is single track, with passing points being Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech, and Porthmadog/Portmadoc?

It would seem pointless eliminating stops as it is a single track line.

And a number of intermediate stops serve (what used to be called) caravan sites which might have long distance users. With typical Coast Line speeds there's little to be gained for long distance users (maybe 10min on a 5hr journey from Brum?) and nowhere additional that would merit a stop.
I think tramway through Caernarfon is an ingenious idea (though reclaiming the old rail alignment might be just as effective), but tram-train really requires urban/suburban population density OR an existing rail route to be viable.

 

[Phil from Mon]

Is Berry aware that the coast line is single track, with passing points being Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech, and Porthmadog/Portmadoc?

It would seem pointless eliminating stops as it is a single track line.

Reading his piece he talks about new infrastructure, so presumably reinstating many of the original loops.

I do though think this is all a bit pie-in-the-Sky, although some aspects (eg Amlwch, and Bangor to Caernarfon, would be viable. Bear in mind though that a very frequent bus runs the latter.

 

[Along the bay]

I think the idea of a Llandudno to holyhead stopping service is good as it could allow the request stops to be removed from the longer distance trains
But amlwch - dogellau on a tram sounds uncomfortable.

 

[Phil from Mon]

I think the idea of a Llandudno to holyhead stopping service is good as it could allow the request stops to be removed from the longer distance trains
But amlwch - dogellau on a tram sounds uncomfortable.

If you read the full report he says it is unlikely anyone will use the whole length, but most journeys will be shorter, for example Amlwch to Bangor or Caernarfon, Dolgellau to Barmouth or Porthmadog etc.

And the tram trains he proposes are modified for longer distance travel too, eg they will have better seats, and toilets.

 

[Along the bay]

If you read the full report he says it is unlikely anyone will use the whole length, but most journeys will be shorter, for example Amlwch to Bangor or Caernarfon, Dolgellau to Barmouth or Porthmadog etc.

And the tram trains he proposes are modified for longer distance travel too, eg they will have better seats, and toilets.

So something along the lines of a Swiss metre gauge system is being proposed though obviously adapted.

 

[Belperpete]

I like the way systems in Vienna, Cologne and the like morph seamlessly between underground, tram and long distance metro.

The Cambrian Coast between Mach and Porthmadog can get quite busy, and a regular hourly service could generate significant extra traffic. It would help if it could be speeded up - it is currently quicker to get from Port to Mach on the T2 bus than by train. However, the main reason the bus is quicker is that there is little or no intermediate traffic on a significant part of its journey. Cutting out stops on the Cambrian is not the answer, but using stock with tram-style acceleration and braking would help.

Between Porthmadog and Caernarfon/Bangor, passengers from the Porthmadog area have to endure a lot of stops within the greater Caernarfon area, from about PenyGroes onward. There could be a benefit in separating the local traffic from the "long distance", allowing much faster journey times for passengers travelling from the Porthmadog area to Caernarfon/Bangor. However, I am not convinced that reopening the Afonwen line would achieve this.

 

[krus_aragon]

To my eye, this seems to be a bit of a "cawlach" of many little ideas, which don't quite chime together as a unit.

The idea to use tram-train flexibility to get around the loss of alignment in the Caernarfon area is a reasonable thought.

Dolgellau is a short eight mile run from the Cambrian Coast, and the alignment, currently in use as the Mawddach trail, is unobstructed until you reach the bypass at the outskirts of Dolgellau itself. The current bus service takes an hour to reach Porthmadog, whereas the train from Porthmadog takes a similar time to reach Barmouth and Morfa Mawddach (before turning toward Dolgellau). Reopening this route isn't likely to offer time savings, but could offer new through services to the coast instead. I can also see how the Dolgellau spur serves as a terminating point for services coming from Caernarfon.

I see no reason for Amlwch to join the tram-train revolution, other to attempt to reduce infrastructure costs. The current alignment is all still present (with the exception of one road bridge in Llangefni that fell victim to a HGV), and there's little to be gained from diverting away from it (assuing you want to serve the main settlements of Llangefni, Llanerchymedd, and Amlwch). The trackbed needs clearing and checking (with all relevant environmental precautions) anyway, so there'd be no saving there. I'd say stick to heavy rail for Llangefni/Amlwch, and run a stopping service through to Llandudno Jn/Llandudno, whatever came of the Caernarfon ideas.

Disregarding the Anglesey branch, this proposal feels like an attempt to design a cohesive rail-based transport network for travel within Gwynedd. This could be useful to locals and also tourists. But I feel it needs a little more refinement first.


Also, let's not forget that TfW are planning extra (Heavy Rail) services for the Cambrian Coast on summer weekends once their new stock arrives.

 

[Belperpete]

To my eye, this seems to be a bit of a "cawlach" of many little ideas, which don't quite chime together as a unit. .....this proposal feels like an attempt to design a cohesive rail-based transport network for travel within Gwynedd. This could be useful to locals and also tourists. But I feel it needs a little more refinement first.

Rather than attempt an all rail-based network, I feel that a lot more could be achieved at far less cost with a truly integrated bus/rail network along Swiss lines.