Pontrilas station (not) reopening

[lachlan]

Hadn’t heard of this one before so don’t know what the history is here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66961978

Plans to reopen a railway station in Herefordshire that closed more than 60 years ago have been shelved.
Pontrilas station, on the Hereford to Abergavenny line, was shut in 1958 after being used for almost a century.
Plans to reopen it had been backed by a previous Herefordshire Council administration and Conservative MP Jesse Norman.
Leaders on the local authority, however, said it would represent "poor value for money".
Conservative councillor Philip Price said the project would create an additional financial risk for the authority.
"I would be unwilling to saddle the council with the additional financial risk that building a new station would present at this time," he said.
"It is likely that the scheme will not create additional capacity but will simply transfer journeys from other stations or the bus network."
Mr Norman has been approached for comment.

 

[DelW]

That sounds more like an unfunded aspiration than an actual plan.

From Google maps, Pontrilas is a smallish village in a sparsely populated rural area. Being on a main road, though, it does have a direct bus every two hours to Hereford and to Abergavenny, giving connections onto the Marches line. As such, it doesn't seem to be a high priority case for any available funds.

Theres also the effect on train services. Stopping every Marches line train there wouldn't be justified, but if you stop only a selection then that makes clockface timetables more difficult. So I can't imagine the train operators being keen on the station reopening either.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I didn't realise this before but the Marches line crosses the meandering Wales/England border 5 times south of Pontrilas, which is just in Herefordshire less than half a mile from the border.
So a Cardiff-Holyhead train will cross the border 8 times - the other 3 locations being at Chirk, Rossett and Saltney (Chester).

 

[lachlan]

That sounds more like an unfunded aspiration than an actual plan.

From Google maps, Pontrilas is a smallish village in a sparsely populated rural area. Being on a main road, though, it does have a direct bus every two hours to Hereford and to Abergavenny, giving connections onto the Marches line. As such, it doesn't seem to be a high priority case for any available funds.

Theres also the effect on train services. Stopping every Marches line train there wouldn't be justified, but if you stop only a selection then that makes clockface timetables more difficult. So I can't imagine the train operators being keen on the station reopening either.

There was an application to the Reopening your Station (or whatever it was called) fund in 2020 but this was rejected.

I also looked at Google Maps and on seeing the village was unsurprised the bid failed. Maybe if there were a load of new houses planned the station would be more viable in the future?

 

[Techniquest]

I'm not surprised this station isn't going ahead. It would be handy for the area, granted, as it's not just Pontrilas itself but the nearby villages not far from it that would benefit. Sadly though, I just don't see enough benefit to opening it myself. Absolutely a nice-to-have, but there are more deserving projects out there.

 

[Bald Rick]

Yes this was in the Restoring your Railway list - absolutely bonkers and quite rightly rejected. Business case was appalling.

 

[nanstallon]

Pontrilas used to be the junction for the Golden Valley line that went through such delightful villages as Dorstone, Peterchuch and Vowchurch on its bucolic way to Hay-on-Wye. Gorgeous countryside, but a pre-WW2 closure at least to passengers. Would Pontrilas serve as a railhead for a bus to Hay? I believe that they are served by a Hereford to Brecon bus service, so it is hard to see much point in reopening Pontrilas station.