Tim H Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Not looking good. I've booked tickets for a rock festival (HRH Prog) at Penychain near Pwllheli, and it's looking increasingly unlikely that the line will have reopened by then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim H Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 The NRE website is being very unhelpful. Despite an estimate of several months to reopen the line, it's implying that trains will be running to Harlech by next week, and through to Pwllheli by March. There is no information regarding timings of replacement buses from Machylleth. I looked at the National Express coach times, and Reading to Pwllheli is eleven hours, which is a considerably longer time than I'm willing to endure on board a coach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 The NRE website is being very unhelpful. Despite an estimate of several months to reopen the line, it's implying that trains will be running to Harlech by next week, and through to Pwllheli by March. There is no information regarding timings of replacement buses from Machylleth. I looked at the National Express coach times, and Reading to Pwllheli is eleven hours, which is a considerably longer time than I'm willing to endure on board a coach. Is there a possibility of perhaps train to Shrewsbury or Bangor and coach/bus from there? As regards the information concerning the duration of the problem, I suspect they don't have anything in the system to deal with such a long duration, and the relevant field won't allow them to have 'unknown'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Saw a picture on the Wales BBC website of the 158 on the lowloader squeezing through a gap between two buildings,what a delicate removal job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium corneliuslundie Posted January 18, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 18, 2014 Sut dach chi? There are currently at least eight buses a day between Machynlleth and Portmadoc, journey time something over 95 minutes. There are not that many trains when they are running. The X32 Traws Cambria aervice is presumably not affected by the Arriva decision to pull out of some services as it is sponsored by the Welsh Assembly. So a round trip using the Festiniog Railway is still possible, and possibly quicker than all by rail. And those buses go on to Bangor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 18, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 18, 2014 All credit to NR and Arriva if theya re going to put some 158's on the isolated section. When I travelled that line there wqs very heavy schools traffic to Harlech so presumably there will have been pressure to sort something out. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Saw a picture on the Wales BBC website of the 158 on the lowloader squeezing through a gap between two buildings,what a delicate removal job. That is a tight fit! --- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-25743400 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 The Arriva website should have details of the replacement buses I would imagine. Harlech by March might be doable, but the Pont Briwet north of Harlech is closed for replacement and the new bridge was last said to be opening in 2015, so unless they've put on a spurt I don't expect trains to Porthmadog and Pwllheli until then. If you go to the Gwynedd Council website you can find local bus timetables, it might be quicker to get to Pwllheli via Bangor and a local bus to Pwllheli Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 18, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 18, 2014 Interestingly I thought it might be worth a couple of tests in the national timetable site - for Harlech, I was given 'bus service from Machynlleth' for next week and train times for late March and Journey Planner gives me train times to Machynlleth for a date in mid-March which suggests it is based on a different possession date for the bridge renewal or it has not been correctly entered in the system if it is indeed 2015 (which I find extremely difficult to imagine for such a relatively small job). Unless things have changed Journey Planner should work on a 6 month horizon for detail although it is probably loaded with basic service data up to teh timetable change date beyond that horizon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 18, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 18, 2014 From a link on another website I checked on the Network Rail site the rail bridge is now due to reopen in Spring 2014 So perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Changes-to-rail-services-at-Pont-Briwet-1f6c.aspx Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Saw a picture on the Wales BBC website of the 158 on the lowloader squeezing through a gap between two buildings,what a delicate removal job. Spotted these two units parked up overnight on the chester southern bypass on Friday probably heading to Crewe the following day Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanders Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 That is a tight fit! --- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-25743400 If you could pretend the low loader isn't there, it reminds me of the Weymouth boat trains... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Does anyone know what the running numbers were, it will be interesting to see how long it is before they are running on mainline again Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 According to the Gwynedd website the existing bridge will be closed until May 2014 when a temporary road bridge will be installed AFTER the new rail bridge is complete. Presumably the North Wales Daily Post who first put forward the 2015 date were quoting the opening of the new road bridge instead of the rail bridge. http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/gwy_doc.asp?cat=8363&doc=31243&language=1&p=1&c=1 No, scrub that, it WAS Network Rail who said trains off until 2015 back in December, they've now changed the completion date according to the NWDP. I thought I hadn't imagined it... http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pont-briwet-road-rail-closed-6503154 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 According to the Gwynedd website the existing bridge will be closed until May 2014 when a temporary road bridge will be installed AFTER the new rail bridge is complete. Presumably the North Wales Daily Post who first put forward the 2015 date were quoting the opening of the new road bridge instead of the rail bridge. http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/gwy_doc.asp?cat=8363&doc=31243&language=1&p=1&c=1 No, scrub that, it WAS Network Rail who said trains off until 2015 back in December, they've now changed the completion date according to the NWDP. I thought I hadn't imagined it... http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pont-briwet-road-rail-closed-6503154 Cheers mate The photos are interesting... Thanks for the link... Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2014 According to the Gwynedd website the existing bridge will be closed until May 2014 when a temporary road bridge will be installed AFTER the new rail bridge is complete. Presumably the North Wales Daily Post who first put forward the 2015 date were quoting the opening of the new road bridge instead of the rail bridge. http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/gwy_doc.asp?cat=8363&doc=31243&language=1&p=1&c=1 No, scrub that, it WAS Network Rail who said trains off until 2015 back in December, they've now changed the completion date according to the NWDP. I thought I hadn't imagined it... http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pont-briwet-road-rail-closed-6503154 Thanks for the link. I don't think that the confusion about the dates is bad planning. I think I've seen a piece in one of the railway magazines that explains it. Originally they were going to try and keep the bridge open to both rail and road traffic until the new bridge was ready. The old bridge started to move so the rail traffic had to stop as that part is nearest to the new bridge works. Then the road part started to deteriorate so they ahd to close that. Oncve both were closed access for work to the site got a lot easier so they re wrote the timetable and now intend to complete the rail bridge first and then the road part. From the pictures the piling for the rail bridge is well advanced and if the deck is going to be pre fabricated it shouldn't take long to put it in place. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Yes, once both bridges were closed it would effectively give a clear site. Makes you wonder if it would have been better to have done it in the first place, suffer several months of disruption for a quicker overall result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium The White Rabbit Posted January 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2014 A couple of 'before' views of the area, showing how close this line is to the sea in places, taken from the road up to Tonfanau station, a couple of miles north of Tywyn looking southwest, June 2011: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted January 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 19, 2014 Nice views White Rabbit, they show both the potential vulnerability but also why it's such a stunning journey to take. There are very few sections where the line strays any appreciable distance from the coast. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If like me you think that fairness is best expressed "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" then you won't have a problem with that. But it can never be a blank cheque. Since there is a limit on what the ability can generate, then that limits how much of any need can be met. Painful decisions are often inescapable, even with good will. ...As for requiring the rest of the UK to "support" Wales and/ or Scotland I wonder where the rest of the UK and for that matter, any country which grew during the industrial revolution would have been, were it not for the millions of tons of coal and steel produced here.... or how many buildings across the world would have fared, were it not for the fact they have the best slates in the world on their roofs... The currency of gratitude is non-negotiable and has the highest depreciation rate known. The flint miners of East Anglia are first in the queue for 'early steps toward UK industrialisation not properly recognised' in any case. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Back on topic...it looks like Network Rail are confirming our earlier suspicions and saying the Cambrian could remain shut north of Barmouth until May (co-incidentally the revised proposed opening date for Pont Briwet, not really very surprising) although Barmouth could see trains sometime next month, according to BBC North Wales http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-25794295 At least we're getting there although we do have another set of extremely high Spring tides this month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium The White Rabbit Posted January 20, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 20, 2014 How has the Fairbourne Railway got on? Have they suffered any damage? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 How has the Fairbourne Railway got on? Have they suffered any damage? Not much fortunately, apparently the building at Penrhyn had some water get into it, but mostly the line has been inundated with seaweed and some sand which settled out of the seawater. There's a working weekend for volunteers soon to get the line ready for the new season. Actually Fairboune got off quite lightly only suffering flooded fields and marshes, and some minor damage to the sea defences although some wartime tanktraps and a brick built wartime pillbox got totally destroyed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Bumping this topic purely out of interest... any further news on repairs? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Latest estimate for Barmouth 10th Feb: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/66469.aspx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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