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”.
