Travel to Porthmadog in early April

ricoblade · 15 Jan 2020

Hi All,

I am trying to plan a journey for my mum from Sheffield to/from Porthmadog in early April.

I am getting "At present, we cannot confirm whether this service will run and some additional services may be missing from the journey planner" and it is advising a bus service from Tywyn to Porthmadog.

Please can someone advise what is causing this (I assume the Porthmadog leg is not in the timetable yet and I can't find any engineering work) and when it might be resolved.

Thanks.

RailUK Forums

Flying Snail · 15 Jan 2020

Advance tickets are only available (on most routes) for approx 12 weeks, currently TfW are available up to April 5.

CaptainHaddock · 15 Jan 2020

What date(s) are you looking at? TOPS is showing trains as only running between Machynlleth and Tywyn from 6 to 10 April.

SeanG · 15 Jan 2020

Look at the Ffestiniog Round Robin as a ticket also. You don't have to do a 'round trip' and can use it as a day return. £44 from Manchester I believe so not bad value

sonic2009 · 15 Jan 2020

Could try and make use of the T2 bus service from Bangor to Porthmadog, and travel via Manchester Piccadilly with only 2 changes.

Ralph Ayres · 15 Jan 2020

That warning seems to come up for any journey more than about 6 weeks in advance involving TfW services, possibly because of some ongoing concerns about availability of new trains. Try somewhere totally different such as Bangor or Swansea and you'll get the same message. That's separate from any planned engineering work on a specific date which you may also have stumbled across.

lyndhurst25 · 15 Jan 2020

Is this a day-trip, or will your mum be staying overnight(s) in Wales?

Chezni · 15 Jan 2020

Planed engineering work is taking place on Cambrian line on Barmouth bridge from Feb onwards

SteveM70 · 15 Jan 2020

Chezni said:
Planed engineering work is taking place on Cambrian line on Barmouth bridge from Feb onwards

Do you happen to know if that work means the footway on the bridge will also be closed?

Chezni · 15 Jan 2020

No sorry dont know the exact nature of engineering work taking place

krus_aragon · 15 Jan 2020

Some brief information on the planned work from 2017:

Bill Kelly, chief operating officer with Network Rail Wales, said: "We are planning to spend in excess of £20m on this bridge between 2019 and 2024.
"That's an exciting period for us, it's an exciting period for the bridge and for the Cambrian line - fantastic news."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-41568248

I haven't been able to find any specifics; I thought of checking Gwynedd Council's website for details on any closure of the footpath, but it isn't listed on the register of public footpaths and rights of way in the first place.

Llanigraham · 15 Jan 2020

krus_aragon said:
Some brief information on the planned work from 2017:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-41568248

I haven't been able to find any specifics; I thought of checking Gwynedd Council's website for details on any closure of the footpath, but it isn't listed on the register of public footpaths and rights of way in the first place.

That's because it isn't a County Council's Public Right of Way, so not shown on the Definitive Map, but a Permissive Path, owned by NR and can be closed by them at any time.

30907 · 15 Jan 2020

If a bus service is already in the journey planner, it is likely to be running (it is school holidays, I imagine, as it is Holy Week) and with the very extended journey time (an extra hour) your mum might want to use an alternative route: Bangor or Blaenau Ffestiniog are the two possible railheads.

Meole · 15 Jan 2020

Cambrian coast work is normally planned to take place during school holidays as in the recent autumn break, as the line is an essential transport provider for 2 senior schools, in addition the replacement buses are sourced from other school bus services not being used during the school holiday. A considerable amount of work on the Barmouth bridge has been taking place already and £ 20 m is to be spent on it through 2024.

ricoblade · 16 Jan 2020

Chezni said:
Planed engineering work is taking place on Cambrian line on Barmouth bridge from Feb onwards

There is no Engineering Work showing for early April on Nationalrail.co.uk.

ricoblade · 16 Jan 2020

SeanG said:
Look at the Ffestiniog Round Robin as a ticket also. You don't have to do a 'round trip' and can use it as a day return. £44 from Manchester I believe so not bad value

Thanks but she's staying a few days and is a life member on the FR so gets free travel on there.

krus_aragon · 16 Jan 2020

ricoblade said:
Thanks but she's staying a few days and is a life member on the FR so gets free travel on there.

If that's the case, maybe travelling via Blaenau Ffestiniog would turn out to be a good choice.

30907 · 16 Jan 2020

ricoblade said:
There is no Engineering Work showing for early April on Nationalrail.co.uk.

Are we talking about w/comm 5 April? That week isn't complete on NRE and is only just inside the 12 week period that NR are supposed to adhere to.
If a rail replacement bus is shown, the reason is most likely engineering work.

ricoblade · 21 Jan 2020

The Engineering work has appeared:

Engineering work is taking place between Dovey Junction and Tywyn, closing all lines from Sunday until Friday morning.

Buses will replace trains between Machynlleth and Tywyn throughout the week, until 10:10.

Check before you travel:

You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner

Replacement Bus Travel Advice:

You can find the location of your bus replacement by checking station signs or by searching for your station on our station information pages.

Flying Snail · 21 Jan 2020

ricoblade said:
The Engineering work has appeared:

Engineering work is taking place between Dovey Junction and Tywyn, closing all lines from Sunday until Friday morning.

Buses will replace trains between Machynlleth and Tywyn throughout the week, until 10:10.

Check before you travel:

You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner

Replacement Bus Travel Advice:

You can find the location of your bus replacement by checking station signs or by searching for your station on our station information pages.

That description appears to be incorrect, schedules show trains running from Mach as far as Tywyn with buses from there to Pwllheli.

ricoblade · 21 Jan 2020

Flying Snail said:
That description appears to be incorrect, schedules show trains running from Mach as far as Tywyn with buses from there to Pwllheli.

I agree there is a mismatch. Journey Planner shows buses from Tywyn onwards, that notice (and attached map) shows buses between Machynlleth and Tywyn and implies trains onward from there.

Belperpete · 21 Jan 2020

If travelling from the Porthmadog area, it is quicker to catch the Traws Cambria T2 bus to Machynlleth than catch the train, and certainly much quicker if rail replacement buses are involved. Most T2 services seem to arrive in Mach in reasonable time to catch the onward Shrewsbury train, and the T2 is also free at weekends. The T2 goes inland via Dolgellau, so no use for those travelling from Harlech, Badmouth and Towyn.

Unfortunately the connections between train and T2 are generally not good at Mach heading toward Porthmadog.

Belperpete · 21 Jan 2020

ricoblade said:
I agree there is a mismatch. Journey Planner shows buses from Tywyn onwards, that notice (and attached map) shows buses between Machynlleth and Tywyn and implies trains onward from there.

The difference is significant. Rail replacement buses between Tywyn and Mach have to go a LONG way inland, adding significantly to journey times, and badly affecting onward connections.

Travel to Porthmadog in early April

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