Letter to the Editor: Under the Concessionary Travel Pass scheme, elderly people in Wales are eligible for free rail travel on certain routes, such as the Cambrian Coast line (between October and March) and the Heart of Wales line. And, of course, those over the age of 60 are also entitled to free bus travel, which is sadly under threat from the cancellation of some rural routes.

But, in this largely rural, quite isolated constituency, the train travel is not quite so generous and, therefore, Ceredigion Conservatives are calling for free pensioner rail travel to be extended to the Aberystwyth-Shrewsbury route.

In these difficult economic times, we should be taking the small, but potentially transformative, steps to assist some of the most vulnerable groups in our society.

We already know that loneliness is a major issue amongst the elderly and free rail travel could be key to encouraging pensioners not to stay indoors because the costs are too prohibitive. And, given that we still have to address the catastrophic impacts of climate change, it makes sense to kill two birds with one free rail pass stone.

Reducing car use without discouraging the elderly from getting out and about is an obvious benefit to our community and our environment.

Green spaces don’t have to be torn up to deal with rail congestion, we just have to run more rolling stock and services. Ok, it’s never quite that simple, but Transport for Wales is a public service and we, the public, can and should demand the highest quality of our Welsh railways.

Ideally, the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen line would be reopened. The logic behind it is incontrovertible, with it addressing the major climate issues we have to face and increase connectivity between mid and south Wales, and there is a well-established and widely supported campaign. But it is, unfortunately, not on the horizon.

In the meantime, the least we can do is to encourage use of the rail services we have. Aberystwyth is isolated (literally the end of the line!) so it makes sense to help as many people as possible to travel around and, in turn, draw in more people on the most sustainable means of transport available to us.

As many of our pensioners could be heading to spend the day in Welshpool or Shrewsbury (or further afield), so too could those in Pwllheli and Barmouth head to us, spending money in our shops and cafes.

It’s a small measure, but one with very real benefits.

Ewan Lawry,

Deputy Chairman,

Ceredigion Conservatives