A DISUSED rail corridor between Kidwelly and Cwm Mawr will be developed as a velorail thanks to a £75,000 award.
The prize, which was awarded following a Heritage and Community Rail Tourism Innovation competition, will allow the cycle rail – already popular in France – to be established on a disused Network Rail branch and rail side land. Judges for the competition included Mark Garnier, MP, Lord Faulkner; Deirdre Wells OBE and Sir William McAlpine.
It is hoped that the operation will be just the starting point for the development of the entire Rheilffordd Cwm Gwendraeth Valley Railway.
The line was originally built along the tow path of the earliest canal in Wales, and will eventually offer a unique experience, with rail, cycle tracks, and stretches of waterway on the same route. Access to Wales’ oldest railway bridge would also be reintroduced.
Jon Hobden of the Gwendraeth Railway Society said that he hoped the velorail would enable the group to ‘start the line off and get things moving.’
“Eventually, it’ll be a heritage railway. Hopefully within three years we’ll have trains running along it,” he added.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Tourism and Heritage Minister David Evennett said: “We want more tourists to experience the hidden gems the whole of the UK has to offer.
“Heritage and community railways are important local attractions, and these projects will help support our railway history and promote it to visitors from home and abroad.”
Rail Minister Claire Perry agreed: “We want to show the best of British to our visitors, and heritage and community railways are part of that package,” she said.
“Thanks to this competition, 17 railways organisations right across Britain will be able to invest in promoting and boosting what they have to offer to visitors”.
Local MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Nia Griffith said: “This is great news for Kidwelly, the Gwendraeth Valley and the entire area including Llanelli, establishing a project that will bring tourists, jobs and increasing prosperity.
“I am particularly pleased that this will be a UK first, not only establishing a unique heritage railway on a unique rail corridor but including a huge element of health and activity with the Velorail operation.”
The line will also open up a multimodal transport connection between the A48 and the main railway line at Kidwelly, which it is hoped will help to bring tourists, as well as more local visitors, to the area, which already boasts a number of attractions.
The next phase of the plan is thought to involve developing rail side land near Kidwelly Station, with a view to improving visitor parking and creating a heritage rail station.
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