Cyril Haearn wrote:Plaid wants trains from north to south Wales without going through England, the plan is to reopen a line via Aberystwyth
Brecon and Moat Lane could be reopened too in case of diversions
The trains could not go fast, it would still take a long time to get from the top to the bottom
Although I'll be voting Plaid in a day or few, I am slightly worried about the new Adam Price anti-English spiels. I'm hoping its just a spin-trick to attract the votes of the more xenophobic Welsh, alongside those of the Welsh 99% who are sensible and are voting for Plaid actual policies (along with most of the English immigrants I know).
Despite the attempts of the Tory loons to fragment it, we are still a single British country. There is no border between Wales and England other than an historically defunct one. It doesn't matter that a Welsh-place-to-Welsh-place rail journey goes through England because it's England. It only matters if the route is inefficient in serving the wants and needs of those undertaking the journey. The current route actually goes through various larger centres of population and is quite useful to those not going all the way from Cardiff to Holyhead.
The proposed re-opening of a Carmarthen - Aberystwyth line would go within a mile of our hoose. It would pass through or near various very small West Welsh villages. I would be really surprised if it attracted more than half a dozen passengers a journey. The hourly bus service (T1) already goes more or less the same route and is quite rapid. It also stops in a lot, lot more places (outside your door, if you flag it down) than would a train.
Adam Price criticises the "English" high speed north-south plan, rightly so, as a vanity project. His plan to re-build the ancient railway, defunct long before Beeching, between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth is a vanity project too - and just as wishful-thunky about the benefits.
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The hemoragh of young people from Wales is to do with lack of jobs. Connecting Holyhead to Cardiff via a more direct yet very low population rail route will do nothing whatsoever to change that. And why would students of the respective universities need to constantly travel between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth? If they do, what's wrong with that fine T1 bus?
Any passenger or goods that want to go to Ireland from Carmarthen could currently go via rail to FIshguard for the ferry; or via rail to Pembroke Dock for the other ferry. Why would they want to go to Holyhead?
Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes