Hi all,  

Here`s an update to announce that The Llangollen railway is now in a healthy financial state. The bank balance has increased significantly since thanks to a mixture of generous donations from supporters and the general public, grants, delays in rehiring staff, operating fewer steam trains, relying on DMU (Diesel Multiple Units) and diesel for midweek operations in particular, and passenger loadings had been about 10% above forecast. 

By their last day of service on Sunday November 7th 2021 the railway has operated on 85 days and carried over 23,000 passengers in the course of running 3500 miles on the Llangollen line since services resumed on July 9. 

Approximately £200,000 has also been approved under South Clwyd’s Levelling Up fund application towards the cost of the canopy for Corwen Central Station. But still there are still a number of critical steps required before the station can open, and dozens of non-critical tasks to be done before the job can be considered complete. 

Many thanks again to all supporters and members of the public who have made generous donations and visited the railway since it reopened in July. Thanks also to the Welsh Assembly Government and Denbighshire County Council for their support, and the media without whose generous coverage and supportive stance our plight would not have reached so wide an audience. 

In other positive news, whiles researching on the ‘Campaign for Better Transport’ website I have noticed that the whole of the original Llangollen route from Ruabon to Barmouth is listed among the lost railways of Wales, proposed to be re-instated in the future. This is a very good sign, but additional support and donations are needed to make the reinstatements a reality, so when possible, please consider donating for the campaign to help re-instate the reminder of the Llangollen line and many other lost railways around the country. Here`s the link to the website for more information: https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbettertransport.org.uk%2Fre-opening-rail-lines%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3-IWeYgbgN4BNM55OAcL4L_YA2u94a4zk7ErRHF_wPCOp9-SIVcuiowOw%23wales&data=04%7C01%7C%7C626e2310eaf94726240f08d9bbd7b71f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637747357432436578%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=XeXBdDgkVhK6Cnzzjo9Hu4jkdzVf0gLFGD%2BmDxezElU%3D&reserved=0

As for the former Air Products Site, although the previous application to build affordable housing on the site seems to have been withdrawn, I recently came across this article from The Leader (here`s the link: https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leaderlive.co.uk%2Fnews%2F19675071.wrexham-plans-176-new-homes-former-air-products-site%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C626e2310eaf94726240f08d9bbd7b71f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637747357432436578%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=E8B6jBfRaddxgtBYmLubST6rS8Rbx668izp9aH3fysA%3D&reserved=0). It states that 176 new homes are planned to be built on the former Air Products site. The site was purchased with collaboration between ClwydAlyn (the developers), Wrexham Council and The Welsh Government.  

It appears that a more modified application is now being worked on by the developers, the Council and Government, which they are aiming to submit for Spring of next year. Furthermore, a multi-disciplinary design team has been appointed to begin undertaking enabling works to inform the housing layout and design. There appears to be some development work beginning to take place, as shown in these photographs: https://photobucket.com/u/dlnewton2/a/985d594f-f18b-40e9-ab48-1035e5bddee8 Although there are now 56 less houses proposed for the site than the original 232 proposed previously, it`s still potentially very worrying and we need to keep up with the campaign and alert as many people as possible towards the remaining threat to the railway trackbed. If the Welsh Government is involved, we need to make sure that they will keep the houses clear from the trackbed to enable the railway to pass through. Please email the petition to your local MPs and the Welsh Government to get additional support towards safeguarding and funding the railway`s future re-instatement.