Caernarfon Station
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Caernarfon
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This page chronicles the development of Caernarfon Station as from June 2014. Previous work at the station is covered in the Caernarfon-Dinas section.
After a period of local consultations, outline plans for developing Caernarfon station were published on 4th June 2014. The intention is to develop on the present site with a purpose built station building standing beside an extended loop which will be able to accommodate full length trains when required. The track will terminate by the tunnel mouth so that further extension would not be precluded if ever the standard gauge line from Bangor were to be restored. Further consultation will be undertaken and more detailed proposals developed.in due course.
The railway has issued its draft proposals for the station accompanied by the press release below:
(Higher resolution drawings of the proposed station can be found at www.festrail.co.uk/press in the "Caernarfon Station Project" folder)
Porthmadog June 4th 2014:
The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway has unveiled plans for its
proposed new station at Caernarfon.
Since the Welsh Highland opened in the town in 1997, when it ran just three miles to Dinas, the 25 mile line – the UK's longest heritage railway - has been extended in stages, finally opening to Porthmadog in 2011. Throughout that time, Caernarfon Station has been a temporary structure.
With the opening of the £1.3 million redevelopment of Porthmadog Harbour Station in May this year, attention is now turning to the provision of a station of the high quality the historic town of Caernarfon deserves. The railway held two public consultation events in the town earlier this year and has incorporated ideas and suggestions made by local residents and visitors into the proposed design, which will include retail, catering and display areas covering two floors.
The £1.2m project to provide a new station at Caernarfon will create new jobs and safeguard existing ones in addition to generating extra traffic and revenue for both the F&WHR and the local economy. The railway is working with key stakeholders including Gwynedd Council, Cadw, the Harbour Trust, AMs, MPs and ministers in both Cardiff and Westminster. It is possible that work could start as soon as the end of the year. The location of the new station does not preclude the construction of an extension should the standard gauge line between Bangor and Caernarfon be reinstated at some point in the future.
The new station at Caernarfon will help to increase visitor numbers to the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway by an estimated 5,000 visitors per annum. The F&WHR already provides significant benefits to the wider local economy, generating an estimated £25m each year and creating more than 400 jobs.
It is expected that the additional visitors it will bring will provide the following additional benefits:
• 2 full-time jobs
• An additional three-quarters of a million pounds of additional spend in the local economy
• 19 additional indirect jobs locally
• 152 safeguarded jobs locally through sustaining visitor numbers
• New volunteering opportunities within the station and railway
Next steps:
• Develop the scheme towards a planning application (RIBA Stage D)
• Finalise the cost plan
• Further consultation with key stakeholders
• Seek further funding for the project. The current estimated build cost is anticipated to be in the region of £1.2 million
Since the Welsh Highland opened in the town in 1997, when it ran just three miles to Dinas, the 25 mile line – the UK's longest heritage railway - has been extended in stages, finally opening to Porthmadog in 2011. Throughout that time, Caernarfon Station has been a temporary structure.
With the opening of the £1.3 million redevelopment of Porthmadog Harbour Station in May this year, attention is now turning to the provision of a station of the high quality the historic town of Caernarfon deserves. The railway held two public consultation events in the town earlier this year and has incorporated ideas and suggestions made by local residents and visitors into the proposed design, which will include retail, catering and display areas covering two floors.
The £1.2m project to provide a new station at Caernarfon will create new jobs and safeguard existing ones in addition to generating extra traffic and revenue for both the F&WHR and the local economy. The railway is working with key stakeholders including Gwynedd Council, Cadw, the Harbour Trust, AMs, MPs and ministers in both Cardiff and Westminster. It is possible that work could start as soon as the end of the year. The location of the new station does not preclude the construction of an extension should the standard gauge line between Bangor and Caernarfon be reinstated at some point in the future.
The new station at Caernarfon will help to increase visitor numbers to the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway by an estimated 5,000 visitors per annum. The F&WHR already provides significant benefits to the wider local economy, generating an estimated £25m each year and creating more than 400 jobs.
It is expected that the additional visitors it will bring will provide the following additional benefits:
• 2 full-time jobs
• An additional three-quarters of a million pounds of additional spend in the local economy
• 19 additional indirect jobs locally
• 152 safeguarded jobs locally through sustaining visitor numbers
• New volunteering opportunities within the station and railway
Next steps:
• Develop the scheme towards a planning application (RIBA Stage D)
• Finalise the cost plan
• Further consultation with key stakeholders
• Seek further funding for the project. The current estimated build cost is anticipated to be in the region of £1.2 million
Website authored
by Ben Fisher; this page last
updated 4th June 2014 by
David
Tidy