The reopening of the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen is now “on the cards”, Plaid Cymru’s Annual Conference in Swansea has heard.

The long-mooted scheme, which has been estimated would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to complete, has been included in the Welsh Government’s rail strategy document which represents a “major step” for the plans.

The Welsh Government, in its rail strategy document, ‘A Railway for Wales - Meeting the needs of future generations’, it said that it wants to ‘improve connectivity on the nation’s key corridors – especially the western corridor from Ynys Môn to Aberystwyth, Carmarthen and Swansea Bay’.

The meeting at the Plaid conference arranged by Ben Lake MP, Elin Jones AM and Traws Link Cymru heard that restoring the line should now be a “national transport priority”.

Mike Walker, a campaigner for Traws Link Cymru, said: “Following the feasibility study into the reopening of the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway that was published in 2018, and which showed that there are no insurmountable engineering problems associated with the re-establishment of the line, Traws Link Cymru is further encouraged by the recent document released by the Welsh Government.

“For the first time, the Welsh Government has publicly acknowledged the need for a north-south rail corridor, a key element of which is the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line that has been the focus of the Traws Link Cymru campaign."

Miss Jones added: “It’s great to see that the campaign to reopen has now for the first time been given official status within a government transport strategy."

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