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CARNO STATION RE-OPENING CAMPAIGN 

    The Carno Station Action Group was set up in 2002 as a sub-committee of Carno Community Council to campaign for the re-opening of Carno railway station on the Cambrian Line between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth. Carno is a growing village with a population of about 700 and is likely to grow further with the redevelopment of the former Laura Ashley factory site. It is located on the longest stretch of railway without an intermediate station in the whole of Wales - the 22 miles between Caersws and Machynlleth.

    There is a strong consensus that the capital asset of the railway line passing through the village is being wasted as long as the trains pass through without stopping. Government policy is now to encourage the use of public transport for environmental reasons. This is set out in the Wales Spatial Plan, which emphasises the importance of Sustainable Accessibility and calls for the "planning of regions around strong integrated transport systems that meet more people's needs for commuting to work".

    The Carno Station Action Group has produced a detailed "Case for re-opening Carno Station", which can be downloaded by following the link.

     Currently all trains stop at Talerddig, 2 miles West of Carno, in order to pass one another, but no passengers can board or alight. The Action Group has been advocating the transfer of the passing loop from Talerddig to a re-opened station at Carno, so that the stops required for passing purposes can benefit local travellers at the same time. The infrastructure changes required for the proposed Hourly service provide an opportunity for doing this, as described in the next section.

Opportunity presented by proposed Hourly Service

    During 2006 and 2007 Network Rail have been carrying out a feasibility study for the Welsh Assembly Government investigating the infrastructure changes required on the Cambrian Line for the introduction of an hourly service. An hourly service would require trains to pass each other in the vicinity of Welshpool and Dyfi Junction as well as near Carno, as at present.

At a presentation at Portmadog on November 24th 2006 on the "GRIP 3 Option Selection" phase of the study, Network Rail announced that they had short-listed two alternative passing patterns for further development in the next phase of work (GRIP 4 Single Option Development):

• 1. Welshpool "dynamic loop" 4.2 km long; Talerddig; Dyfi Junction or
• 2. A shorter Welshpool "dynamic loop" 2.3 km long; Carno; Dyfi Junction

In the first option, the Welshpool "dynamic loop" is required to extend 2.6 miles South of Welshpool to reduce the running time on the single track section to Talerddig to 28 minutes. In the second option, the Welshpool "dynamic loop" can be shorter, as Carno is two miles nearer to Welshpool than Talerddig.

    Clearly the second option saves a two kilometre length of double track at the cost of building a new passing loop at Carno. Network Rail reported that the estimated capital cost of the two options were £11.6 m and £12.6 m respectively, but when the risk cost was included the cost advantage of the Talerddig option reduced to only £100k   The Carno Station Action Group believes that the second option is the obvious choice, as it would enable a station to be opened to serve Carno without imposing any additional delays on the train service. The implementation of the proposed hourly service therefore provides an ideal opportunity to end the wasteful practice of stopping trains in open country at Talerddig and move the loop to Carno where the trains could pass and stop at a station at the same time.

Station cost

    The original two-platform station and passing loop were beside the level-crossing on the Llanfair Caereinion road and one of the platforms and the station house are still in situ. It is envisaged that the new station would be located in the same place, so access to each platform would be directly from the road.

    In the absence of the need for a footbridge, the cost of the station would be heavily dependent on the length of the platforms. Although it is commonly held that the platforms of a new station have to be as long as the longest train likely to call, this is not necessarily the case, as the new station at Beauly near Inverness was opened in 2002 with a platform only 15 metres long and the conductor-guard opens the train doors adjacent to the platform only. The whole station at Beauly cost £250,000, including a 120 m long new road access, turning circle and 10 parking places. Based on this figure, it seems unlikely that the cost of a two platform station at Carno with adjacent car parking area need exceed £400,000.

    Rail travel is an order of magnitude safer than travel by road, but no road accidents would be saved if Carno station is made too expensive by the imposition of higher rail safety standards than apply at other stations up and down the country.

The campaign in 2007

    The current phase of the campaign was initiated when it became apparent that Network Rail had shortlisted Carno as a passing loop location for the proposed Hourly Service. In January, Carno Community Council wrote to TraCC, the regional transport planning authority for Mid Wales, setting out the case for re-opening the station and requesting TraCC's support. In their reply, TraCC undertook to ensure that the economic and social benefits of the station are considered when a decision is taken by Network Rail as to the location of passing loops.

    At the beginning of April, Carno Station Action Group held a well-attended public meeting at which both Cllr Gwilym Evans, Chairman of TraCC, and Mr Mick Bates AM gave the re-opening proposal their enthusiastic support. See April 6^th Press Release. Later in the month 120 people assembled at the level crossing by the old Carno Station for a publicity photograph of the supporters of the re-opening campaign. See April 22^nd Press Release.

Hourly service feasibility study developments

    Network Rail carried out the GRIP 4 "Single option development phase" of its feasibility study into the proposed hourly service for the Welsh Assembly Government between December 2006 and July 2007. Unfortunately, CSAG learned in March 2007 that Network Rail was focussing on the Talerddig passing loop location, rather than the Carno loop location, despite the fact that it indicated in the Portmadog presentation that both "sub-options" could be carried forward into GRIP 4. Accordingly it became an urgent priority for the Action Group to convince the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to request Network Rail to revert to the inclusion of the Carno "sub-option" in its work.

    Mick Bates AM wrote to successive Ministers for Economy of Transport on March 13^th, June 6th and July 3^rd asking for the decision to retain the loop at Talerddig to be reconsidered and for the Minister to meet with CSAG to discuss the issue, but received only non-committal replies.

Carno Station Action Group petition

     Baffled by the lack of any meaningful response from the Minister, the Action Group set about collecting signatures for a petition calling upon the Welsh Assembly Government "to re-open Carno Station and end the wasteful practice of stopping trains outside Talerddig with no passenger benefit."  780 signatures were collected and a delegation of six took the petition to the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff and handed it over to the Presiding Officer, Lord Elis-Thomas, on the steps of the Assembly Building on June 12^th. See "Re-opening petition handed in". The petition was one of the first to be accepted under the Assembly's new petitions procedure, which requires the newly constituted Assembly Petitions Committee to consider the petitioner's request and make a formal response.

    The Petitions Committee met to discuss the Petition on July 4^th - see "Petitions Committee considers Carno Station". They concluded that CSAG had presented a well argued case and decided to refer the petition to the scrutiny committee responsible for transport matters, the Enterprise and Learning Committee. They in turn resolved to hold a meeting in September in Carno itself to take evidence.

Intervention by Minister for Economy and Transport

    On August 8^th the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport, Mr Ieuan Wyn Jones, announced capital funding of £8 m to improve the infrastructure of the Cambrian Line and that the loops selected for rebuilding or enhancement would be at Dyfi Junction, Talerddig and Welshpool.

     The decision in favour of Talerddig loop in advance of the Enterprise and Learning Committee hearing on September 4^th, evoked widespread criticism because of the loss of the potential synergy between relocation of the loop at Carno and re-opening the station there. See "MINISTER'S LOOP DECISION PRE-EMPTS CARNO STATION ASSEMBLY HEARING".  However, in response to letters of protest, the Minister wrote that nothing in the choice of Talerddig "makes the potential future development of a station at Carno less practicable or less possible"

The Enterprise and Learning Committee hearing in Carno

    This was held on the morning of September 4^th in Carno Community Centre. Four Assembly member's took part: Gareth Jones, Chairman, Jeff Cuthbert, Alun Davies and Mick Bates (in place of Kirsty Williams) and evidence was presented by Tony Burton (for the petitioners), Phil Jackson (Powys County Council), Mike Gallop (Network Rail), Ian Baxter (Network Rail), Mike Bagshaw (Arriva Train Wales) and Tim James (Welsh Assembly Government Head of Rail). All parties also submitted written evidence in advance, apart from Tim James. The CSAG written evidence can be found on the website Campaign Pages. Other written evidence can be found on the National Assembly for Wales website. Go to Business => Committees => Current Committees => Enterprise and Learning Committee => Agendas, Papers and Transcripts.

    The 50 minute CSAG presentation was limited by time constraints, but succeeded in covering all the key subject areas. The first half examined the case for re-opening the station in isolation from passing loop issues and focussed on the methodology adopted to forecast passenger demand at the re-opened station (including abstraction from Caersws), the issue of platform length and the station cost forecast based on the £237k Beauly station in Scotland.

    The second half considered the benefit of relocating the Talerddig passing loop at Carno, both to the overall Cambrian line timetable and in reducing delays to services due to a Carno station stop. It was pointed out that retention of the loop at Talerddig would require the proposed Welshpool "dynamic" loop to be extended by an additional 2 km, in all probability making this option more expensive after the additional track maintenance costs have been factored in. Finally it was noted that only one platform need be provided beside the loop to enable alternate trains to serve the station - a solution which would eliminate any need for a footbridge and considerably reduce the cost.

    The Network Rail presentation was brief, but elicited a number of questions from AM's on the rôle of the Cambrian Line, the £5 m Network Rail cost estimate for Carno station and the basis for Network Rail's objections to a short platform station. It emerged that there was perceived to be a safety risk with the latter because it is estimated that the conductor-guard would open all the doors by mistake (rather than the door opposite the platform) once every 7,500 stops, with the risk that any passengers attempting to alight at the wrong doors would suffer injury. This despite the fact that only 27 alighting accidents per annum were recorded for the whole UK railway system from 1996 to 2000 at a time when many services were still operated by slam door trains!

    Network Rail's final word was that they "would take a lot of convincing to open any new stations on the Cambrian Line."

    The Arriva Trains Wales representative was closely questioned on the impact of the loop location on overall punctuality and conceded that Carno would be the better location.

    The whole transcript is available on the National Assembly for Wales website.

The Enterprise and Learning Committee Report

    The Committee published its report on September 20^th. It was broadly favourable, recognising the stimulus a station would provide to rural regeneration and noting that the 20 mile plus gap between stations "adds considerable weight to the case for a new station". It concluded that a formal business case needs to be developed, and recommended that the Minister's officials provide support to the Carno station Action Group in developing and submitting such a case.

    As far as the question of the passing loop location is concerned, the committee recognised that it was now too late to ask the Welsh Assembly Government to reconsider its decision to retain and enhance Talerddig, even though there may have been some operational benefits of locating the loop at Carno. However, on the positive side, they noted that the Head of the Welsh Assembly Government's Rail Unit had told the committee that the design of the infrastructure enhancement project had been "future proofed" with some capacity built into it, including the possibility of locating a new station at Carno.

    For the avoidance of doubt, the committee has asked the Minister to confirm that, following completion of the infrastructure enhancement project, it would still be possible to accommodate a single platform station at Carno without compromising the performance or reliability of a future hourly service on the Cambrian Line.

    The findings and recommendations are reproduced on a Campaign webpage and the full report can be viewed on the National Assembly for Wales website.

Next steps

Now that the Minister has decided that the passing loop should remain at Talerddig, action must concentrate on pressing the case for a single platform station alongside the single track, although we will not abandon hope that the passing loop decision might be reconsidered. We must also build on the helpful recommendations of the Enterprise and Learning Committee of the National Assembly. Indeed, the Committee's recommendations have given the campaign fresh impetus.

Once the Minister has confirmed his earlier statement that a station away from the passing loop would be possible without compromising the hourly service, we intend to submit a business case for the station. The Committee's request for Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) officials to help us compile that case, if accepted, would allow a fuller case to be developed. Much of the work has already been done, dealing with the environmental outcomes and passenger numbers. The financial side will be strengthened. CSAG members are also looking again at the guidelines and standards for stations. A key decision for CSAG is whether to proceed on the basis of planning for a 10-metre platform, as at Beauly, or consider a longer platform that would take at least 2 coaches.

Two other recommendations of the Committee are also of great importance to the business case. They have asked the Minister to confirm the role of this line - is it a "social line" as currently treated by WAG or is it an inter-urban (Aberystwyth - Birmingham) line as stated by Network Rail staff at the Committee hearing? This will affect the way in which the business case will be structured. The Committee have also asked the Minister to provide guidance on business cases for the opening of stations generally, suggesting that the Committee favours more stations being opened in Wales.

On the campaigning side, political pressure will be maintained and it is intended that CSAG is present when the Minister is questioned by the Enterprise and Learning Committee later this year. The point that the Committee makes about the long distance between Caersws and Machynlleth stations will be stressed.

YR YMGYRCH I AIL-AGOR GORSAF CARNO

Sefydlwyd Grwp Gweithredu Gorsaf Carno ym 2002 fel is-bwyllgor o Gyngor Cymuned Carno er mwyn ymgyrchu i ail-agor Gorsaf Rheilffordd Carno ar Linell y Cambrian rhwng yr Amwythig ac Aberystwyth. Mae Carno yn bentref ar ei dyfiant gyda poblogaeth o tua 700 ac y mae'n debygol o dyfu ymhellach pan ddaw ail-ddatblygiad cyn-safle ffatri Laura Ashley. Mae wedi ei leoli ar y darn hiraf o reilffordd heb orsaf yng Nghymru gyfan sef y ddwy filltir ar hugain rhwng Caersws a Machynlleth.

Mae teimlad cryf bod yr ased werthfawr o reilffordd yn rhedeg drwy'r pentref yn cael ei gwastraffu gan bod y trênau yn teithio trwodd heb oedi. Polisi Llywodraeth y Cynulliad ydy annog y defnydd o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus am resymau amgylcheddol. Mae hyn wedi ei amlinelli yng Nghynllun Gofodol Cymru sydd yn pwysleisio'r pwysigrwydd o deithio i mewn ac allan o lefydd yn hwylus ac yn barhaol ac sydd yn galw am "gynllunio rhanbarthau o amgylch systemau trafnidiaeth integredig cryf sydd yn cwrdd ag anghenion pobl ar gyfer teithio i'r gwaith."

Mae Grwp Gweithredu Gorsaf Carno wedi gwneud achos manwl dros ail-agor yr orsaf a gellir darllen ei gynnwys trwy ddilyn y linc canlynol. (Link)

Ar hyn o bryd mae pob trên yn oedi yn Nhalerddig, ddwy filltir i'r gorllewin o Garno, er mwyn i drênau fedru pasio eu gilydd ar y ddolen osgoi sydd yno, ond nid yw yn bosib i'r teithwyr esgyn i'r trênau na disgyn ohonynt. Mae'r Grwp Gweithredu yn argymell symud y ddolen osgoi o Dalerddig i Orsaf Carno pan fydd honno ar ei newydd wêdd. Byddai hyn yn caniatau defnyddio'r oediadau er mwyn i drênau basio eu gilydd yn ogystal a rhoddi mantais i deithwyr fyddai eisiau defnyddio'r trên o Orsaf Carno. Mae'r adeiladwaith sylfaenol angenrheidiol ar gyfer y gwasanaeth awrol arfaethedig yn darparu cyfle i wneud hyn fel y gwelir yn yr adran nesaf.

Y cyfle a gynigir gan y Gwasanaeth Awrol Arfaethedig

Mae "Network Rail" ar hyn o bryd yn gwneud astudiaeth ar gyfer Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru trwy ymchwilio i'r newid mewn adeiladwaith sylfaenol fydd eu angen ar Reilffordd y Cambrian er mwyn mabwysiadu'r gwasanaeth awrol. Byddai gwasanaeth o'r fath angen dolennau osgoi yng nghyffiniau y Trallwng a Chyffordd Dyfi ac yn agos i Garno fel ar hyn o bryd. Mewn cyflwyniad ym Mhorthmadog yn Nhachwedd 2006 cyhoeddodd Network Rail mae'r patrymau pasio gorau yn eu barn hwy oedd

* Dolen ddeinamig yn y Trallwng ; Talerddig; Cyffordd Dyfi

NEU

* Dolen osgoi ddeinamig fyrach yn y Trallwng; Carno; Cyffordd Dyfi

Yn yr enghraifft gyntaf, bydd angen i ddolen ddeinamig y Trallwng ymestyn dair milltir i'r dê er mwyn lleihau yr amser teithio ar y trac sengl i Dalerddig i wyth munud ar hugain. Yn yr ail engrhaifft gall dolen ddeinamig y Trallwng fod ddwy filltir yn fyrach gan bod Carno ddwy filltir yn nês i'r Trallwng na Talerddig. Mae'n amlwg bod yr ail ddewis yn mynd i arbed adeiladu dwy filltir o drac dwbwl ar gôst o adeiladu dolen osgoi yng Ngharno. Mae Network Rail yn amcanu mae cyfanswm cost y naill ddewis fyddai £14.9 miliwn a cyfanswm y dewis arall fyddai £15 miliwn - bron iawn yr un faint a'u gilydd. Mae Grwp Gweithredu Gorsaf Carno yn credu mae'r ail ddewis ydy'r un amlwg i'w fabwysiadu gan y byddai yn caniatau agor gorsaf i wasanaethu Carno heb achosi oediadau ychwanegol ar y gwasanaeth trênau. Bydd mabwysiadu'r gwasanaeth awrol arfaethedig yn rhoi cyfle delfrydol i ddod a'r arfer gwastrafflyd o atal trênau yng nghefn-gwlad yn Nhalerddig a symud y ddolen osgoi i Garno lle byddai trênau yn gallu pasio eu gilydd ac oedi yn yr Orsaf yr un pryd.