Petition for reopening the Hereford, Hay and Brecon line

[caliwag]

Apologies but I have mislaid the link to a parliament petition for above. Can anyone help please?

 

[deltic]

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/211666

 

[caliwag]

Many thanks D

 

[Llanigraham]

Another idiotic pipe dream!
How many more are we going to get?

 

[nuneatonmark]

Never gonna happen

 

[DelW]

Never gonna happen

On the contrary, it's next in line once the high-speed rail link from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth has opened.

 

[Robin1966]

Okay, where can I find out more about that? I can't see much with a cursory look on Google...

 

[steevp]

Ah in a similar vein to DelW's post - I fear that what you think are a squadron of large whites lined up in the car par primed and ready for flight are in fact just a convincing set of snow drifts...

 

[Robin1966]

If that's directed to me steevp, I just asked a question, that's all. I know nothing about the Hereford, Hay and Brecon, hence my question...

 

[caliwag]

Robin 1966...I guess Deltic's answer to my question above.

 

[Robin1966]

Okay, so basically, all there is in this is a petition and that's it, I am assuming from your answer? Nothing more solid than that? Fine. Move on to something else then...

 

[caliwag]

Well there was a thread back in 2014 on the subject...it's on here somewhere. It was based on a speculative article about the prospect of the return of the line. It seems to have disappeared. Perhaps someone from the campaign will respond. Kidderminstershuttle.co.uk

 

[Robin1966]

Okay, so just a campaign, nothing concrete as yet...

 

[Llanigraham]

Okay, so just a campaign, nothing concrete as yet...

This appears to be very similar to the proposal for the reopening of the Aberystwyth Carmarthen line, other than that has a little support from Plaid. However it has even less chance of getting any honest support.
Originally this line was a tramway that was converted to a small wandering single track rural backwater that never made any money, and only linked Hereford to Brecon with no large towns in between.

 

[squizzler]

Whatever the merits, this petition is doing better than the arguably more sensible one calling for a rolling electrification programme. It seems that petitions to reopen lines are those that get the YIMBY signees.

 

[Robin1966]

This appears to be very similar to the proposal for the reopening of the Aberystwyth Carmarthen line, other than that has a little support from Plaid. However it has even less chance of getting any honest support.
Originally this line was a tramway that was converted to a small wandering single track rural backwater that never made any money, and only linked Hereford to Brecon with no large towns in between.

Aha, thanks

 

[PeterC]

If you were even pretending to be serious you should be starting with the Brecon and Merthyr to link to Cardiff (Not that I regard that as realistic either). Stopping the line at Brecon really just makes a stupid plan even worse.

 

[MarkyT]

An article in a Hereford local paper about this:
http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/16054251.Call_for_return_of_rail_route/

Call for return of rail route

COULD rail travel become a reality once more for passengers wanting to head from Hereford to the Welsh hills? That’s the proposition put forward in a petition currently gathering support to reinstate the old line to Brecon and beyond. Apart from the environmental advantages of taking traffic off the roads and on to the rails, the campaign foresees an enthusiastic take-up for those en route to HayFestival and Brecon Jazz.

 

[Bertie the bus]

That article contains this beauty:

Still early days for the petition, his call to ‘Rebuild the “Hereford, Hay and Brecon” and “Mid Wales” Railways has so far gathered 12 names.

Even for a local rag 12 signatures on an online petition is a non-story.

 

[iantherev]

Much as I’d love to see trains return to Brecon, it’s a non-starter due to redevelopment (not to mention the bats in Talyllyn Tunnel). In any case, two weekends a year does not a development case make.

 

[iantherev]

That article contains this beauty:



Even for a local rag 12 signatures on an online petition is a non-story.

I don’t know. The Brecon & Radnorshire Times got half a page over a Stagecoach bus breaking down in the centre of Brecon one recent Sunday because the recovery company sent an incompatible tow truck.

 

[Bevan Price]

Brecon population just over 8,000
Hay On Wye 1,500.

No chance of them supporting a viable railway.

 

[daodao]

Originally this line was a tramway that was converted to a small wandering single track rural backwater that never made any money, and only linked Hereford to Brecon with no large towns in between.

It was taken over by the Midland Railway and used to access coal mines and industry in the Swansea Valley via the Neath and Brecon line, but was never seriously developed as a through passenger route, unlike the LNW Central Wales line. It closed to passengers, as with all other passenger services to Brecon, in 1962. It joined the Brecon and Merthyr line at Talyllyn junction, which has now been converted into attractive garden, with a display of interesting railway artefacts related to the junction, and is occasionally open to the public.

While this is a beautiful area, the population density is low, and the train frequency was always poor (about 4/day). There are still a handful of buses a day (Stagecoach route 39) between Hereford and Brecon, but there would be minimal demand for a re-opened line, except during the Hay Festival.

It would be preferable if campaigners focussed on reopening lines that might be viable/useful, e.g. Abertillery to Newport to complement the existing Ebbw Vale to Cardiff service.

 

[Western Lord]

If you are going to re-open anything out of Hereford, it should be to Ross-on-Wye and Gloucester..........

 

[Railwaysceptic]

If you are going to re-open anything out of Hereford, it should be to Ross-on-Wye and Gloucester..........

Absolutely!