Carno Station Action Group
PRESS RELEASE
ALL ABOARD THE 1.25 TO SHREWSBURY!
Click on image for enlarged view!
Well over a hundred prospective passengers gathered at Carno station last Sunday morning to demonstrate the growing support for the station re-opening campaign. Nearly all trains currently stop at Talerddig to pass each other, but the Carno Station Action Group wants to see the passing place moved from Talerddig to Carno as part of the infrastructure changes for the new hourly service. This would enable the trains to serve the needs of the expanding local community when they stop to pass.
The Action Group has submitted a detailed case for the station re-opening to TraCC, Trafnidiaeth Canolbarth Cymru, the Mid Wales Transport Consortium, which has forwarded it to the Welsh Assembly Government Rail Unit. The report concludes:
- A re-opened Carno station would be a major benefit for a large, relatively remote village, which has seen and will continue to see significant population growth.
- The station would facilitate commuting to jobs further afield, including the new Welsh Assembly Government jobs in Aberystwyth, following the Laura Ashley factory closure.
- The station would promote social inclusion, by providing transport for the old, the young and others without their own car. This would reduce the need for “chauffeuring”.
- The station would encourage green tourism and expanded use of the community centre as a conference centre.
- The station would provide crucial environmental benefits by reducing car journeys for work, shopping and leisure purposes.
- There would be spin-off benefits from reduced congestion in Newtown.
- Re-opening of the station would be fully consistent with the Wales Spatial Plan
- The envisaged implementation of infrastructure improvements for the hourly service in conjunction with the installation of the ERTMS signalling system provides a vital opportunity to establish a passing loop at Carno in 2008. This in turn would enable trains to stop at a re-opened Carno station without imposing any time delay on the train service.
Ends.
Released April 22nd, 2007