Exciting plans to reopen a Welsh railway station 60 years after it last served passengers have been hit by concerns over funding. It was confirmed in 2020 that the town of St Clears in Carmarthenshire would once more have a train station after it closed back in 1964. It was hoped that the station would be active from 2024 - six decades after it was last part of the transport network connecting Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
The nearest station for passengers living in and around St Clears is in Whitland, more than five miles away. But with a funding boost from the UK Government totalling between £4m and £5m confirmed almost three years ago, it seemed that the dream of reopening the station - which almost happened back in the 1970s before plans were abandoned - would become a reality. However, it is feared history could be about to repeat itself with another possible derailment of plans. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
Despite groundwork and surveying being undertaken at the site early last year, there now appears to be uncertainty about the funding promised, leading to doubts about if and when passengers will be able to travel by train to and from St Clears. Lee Waters, the Welsh Government’s deputy minister for climate change, was recently asked about the matter in the Senedd and said that the overall cost of the project had “increased significantly, as indeed have all infrastructure projects”.
Read more: The amazing £500,000 house hidden away on the edge of Carmarthen town centre
Mr Waters added: “Our capital budget has simultaneously been cut by eight per cent in real terms by the Conservative Government as part of their chosen austerity drive. In the short term, we do have a financial gap without a very clear way of addressing it.” Mr Waters confirmed that the Welsh Government had been in discussions with the Hywel Dda University Health Board - which manages healthcare across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion - regarding the St Clears station, as the site is near to all potential locations for the new multi-million pound hospital which is to be built in the area in the coming years. You can read more about that here.
Cefin Campell, a member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales, was the one who raised concerns over the station’s future to Mr Waters. He said: “There’s no denying that a new station in St Clears would provide so many benefits for the town and area - as well as meeting wider Welsh Government active transport and decarbonisation targets.
“However, it’s increasingly clear there’s growing delay and uncertainty around the redevelopment of the station, and I welcomed the opportunity to press the Deputy Minister further on this point. I would urge the Welsh Government to work alongside stakeholders to ensure that this long-awaited project is delivered and delivered soon.”
The UK Government has been asked to comment on the future of the railway station.
