Plans to reopen Bow Street station after 40 years

Plans have been unveiled to reopen a village railway station for the first time in more than 40 years.

Trains last stopped in Bow Street, near Aberystwyth, in the 1960s, and a councillor has urged the community to support their re-introduction.

Trafnidiaeth Canolbarth Cymru (TraCC), a group working with councils on transport issues, is carrying out a feasibility study.

It is also working on a scheme to reopen Carno station, near Newtown.

Campaigners in Carno have been fighting for their station to be reopened for three years.

Ceredigion council said there had been "overwhelming support" to re-open a railway station in Bow Street.

Ceredigion county councillor Paul Hinge, who represents Bow Street, said: "For this important project to have any chance of coming to fruition, there needs to be community support for the facility.

"In conjunction with this bid is the move to provide an hourly service linking Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth.

"Can I ask everyone, including national politicians, to either write individually or as an organisation to support this opportunity of providing a much more sustainable way of transportation here in north Ceredigion?"

Transport projects seeking funding, such as Carno and Bow Street, are appraised under a scheme funded by the assembly government.

The appraisal is then presented to officials so it can be considered for the assembly government's national transport plan.

TraCC is currently working on an appraisal for Bow Street and Carno.

Currently people living in Bow Street have to take a short drive to Borth or Aberystwyth to catch the train.

People who would like to support plans for Bow Street station can write to TraCC at Canolfan Rheidol, Rhodfa Padarn, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, SY23 3UE or email [e-mail] between now and September 2010.