FISHGUARD BUS-RAIL CONNECTIONS “CRUCIAL”, SAYS FIRST MINISTER

BUS-RAIL connections and the project to re-open Goodwick railway station must be completed as soon as possible if the new Fishguard to Carmarthen rail services are to become permanent. That is the view of Pembrokeshire-based Assembly Member Joyce Watson.
Speaking in the Assembly on Tuesday (20 September) – in the first session of the autumn term – the Labour AM for Mid and West Wales asked First Minister Carwyn Jones to see that the Welsh Government works alongside Pembrokeshire Council and its partner organisations to make sure all integrated transport arrangements for the new services are completed at the earliest opportunity.
“It’s an experimental service and it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’ for the next three years”, Mrs Watson explained, adding “it is vital that all integrated projects are up and running as soon as possible to ensure that local people and visitors can make maximum use of it.”
Under the terms of the Railways Act 2005, Welsh Ministers may designate a new passenger rail service experimental so that the service’s long-term viability can be determined before it becomes permanent. The additional Fishguard to Carmarthen services have been designated as experimental until September 2014.
In response, the First Minister confirmed that Pembrokeshire council is working with the local commercial bus operator to link the scheduled bus service with the additional trains at the harbour station.
“It is crucial that there is integration between the two different modes of transport in order to make them both more effective”, he said, adding that an update on the project to re-open Goodwick Station to provide parking and bus services for the new trains would be provided in due course.