Having made repeated calls over the years for safety works on two dangerous level crossings in his constituency, Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has welcomed an email from Network Rail this week outlining plans to build a bridge to allow a safer and more accessible route for people to cross the railway line.
The new bridge is part of Transport for Wales’ (TfW) plans to increase the number of passenger train services on the North Wales mainline in partnership with Network Rail.
TfW plan to increase the number of train services operating along the North Wales mainline from roughly 2 trains per hour to 3 trains per hour from the earliest possible date after December 2025. The additional services will increase connectivity for communities across North Wales and Liverpool.
The email sent to Darren states:
“Whilst the introduction of an additional one train an hour offers economic, social and environmental benefits to Conwy, the increase in rail traffic will also see an increase in risk to pedestrians using the footpath level crossings at Ty Gwyn and Pen Uchaf, Abergele. Ty Gwyn (21st) and Pen Uchaf (37th) rank highly (out of 1041) on the highest-risk crossings on the Wales and Borders Route.
“Regular users include vulnerable users such as families, children and dog walkers. In the last 5 years, Network Rail has recorded: • 24 incidents of misuse since January 2019. • 11 reported near misses since January 2019 • 2 fatalities at Ty Gwyn in 2019 Network Rail has a responsibility to deliver a safe and reliable railway and a legal obligation to manage level crossing risk to a level that is as low as is reasonably practicable.
“Therefore, in partnership with Transport for Wales, Network Rail is currently exploring options for a bridge to allow a safer and more accessible route for people to cross the railway line. This would enable the permanent closure of these high-risk level crossings whilst maintaining a safe route for the local community to use, as well as the TfW timetable and train frequency improvements.”
Commenting on the proposals, Darren said:
“The level crossings are well used by locals and holidaymakers but are a real danger and in 2019 there were sadly two fatalities on the Ty Gwyn crossing.
“I have long been calling for action to make crossing the railway line safer, so I was therefore delighted to receive this latest news from Network Rail. A bridge at the site will reduce risks and make access to the beach safer for all who use it.
“I look forward to the work getting underway and in the meantime urge people using the level crossings to adhere to the following guidelines;
- read the warning signs and follow the instructions carefully
- if you’re on a bike, dismount and walk
- supervise children and animals
- stop, look both ways and listen
- when the line is clear, cross quickly without running (keep looking and listening)
- if there is a gate, always close it behind you.”
Darren is also thrilled that North Wales will benefit from additional train services.
He said:
“It is high time that rail users in North Wales had a more frequent service.
“The additional services on the North Wales mainline will help increase train frequency by 40% and capacity by 50%.”
“All we need now is for the Welsh Government to address the disparity in rail ticket prices between North and South Wales - again something I have been calling for.
“This disparity should be easy to address, given that the Welsh Government is responsible for Transport for Wales and the Wales and Borders Franchise.”
ENDS
