Members of Carno Station Action Group were delighted to learn at the end of April 2010 that the detailed study of the case for Carno Station – WelTAG Stage 2 – is to go ahead shortly. Carno station performed well among the various improvement schemes considered in the recently completed Rail Utilisation Study commissioned by TraCC, the Regional Transport Consortium for Mid-Wales, with the result that TraCC recommended that it go forward for detailed appraisal.
In accepting TraCC’s recommendation, senior officers from the Welsh Assembly Government attending a meeting in Newtown on April 27th said that the detailed study would start as soon as possible, and be carried out over the summer. They added that they would like to see a dialogue between CSAG and the consultants carrying out the appraisal, to take advantage of the work CSAG had already done. Once the study was finished, the Welsh Assembly Government would be in a position to decide whether to include the station in its Rail Forward programme.
Following this, the Deputy First Minister has written to the Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee, Gareth Jones, to update him on progress with the Carno Station business case, the development of which was the Committee’s key recommendation, after its hearing in Carno in September 2007. Ieuan Wyn Jones wrote: “The next step now is to move into a more detailed business case, referred to as WelTAG Stage Two, which will provide sufficient information to inform an investment decision in the future. This more detailed business case is about to start and should be concluded during autumn 2010.”
Carno Station Action Group Chairman, Tony Burton, commented “This is a real step forward and the group is very happy to see this work going ahead at long last. TraCC and the Welsh Assembly Government are to be congratulated on their swift response to the Rail Utilisation Study. Although there are still several hurdles to cross, it seems that the group’s optimism, as expressed by the mobile “Gorsaf Carno ‘nawr” sign in the village, has been justified after all.”
Carno residents joined members of the Action Group and Assembly Member Mick Bates to celebrate this important milestone at a coffee morning held in Carno Community Centre on Saturday May 8th.