To receive a report by Mr Sam Hadley, Network Rail.
Minutes:
Sam Hadley, Wales Route Public
Affairs Manager, was welcomed to the meeting and he reported
on the following matters:
- That the severe weather during October 2018 had created very challenging
conditions.
- That the impact of climate change was to be seen in Network Rail's
workload, and that a review had been commissioned to look at the future impact of this issue.
- That the railways' performance had not been as positive as expected, but noted
that the Cambrian Coast Railway had not been as adversely impacted as other routes.
- That there was close collaboration between Network Rail and
Transport for Wales, ensuring
a strong voice for Wales.
- That a higher settlement had been received for
the next funding cycle
- That a new Chief Executive
had been appointed in August 2018, who had expressed an intention to review the body's structures. He noted that there was an intention to take action on a more local level in
the future, improving the focus on customers.
In response to an observation regarding the
Williams Review of British railways,
he noted that he would
make enquiries with regard to arranging meetings for Cambrian Coast
Railway stakeholders to provide input to the Review.
Chris Wood, Network
Rail Project Manager (Infrastructure Projects), was welcomed to the meeting, and he gave
a presentation on the recent installation of Rock Netting at six sites in
the Aberdyfi area. The work
was essential in order to upgrade the rocky crevices and the railway verges so that
they conformed to modern standards, and to make them safe
where this was impossible. He noted that the work had been challenging due to the environment and the sites where
the work had been carried out. The land had been assessed
thoroughly as part of the preparatory work, and a proactive approach had been taken to land management,
with a design life of 120 years in order to reduce
the need to disturb local residents to work on the line;
and to reduce the cost of maintenance in the future.
Observations arising from the discussion:
- Network Rail was congratulated for completing the work in such
a way as to cause very little inconvenience,
and gratitude was noted for the extra
effort made to reduce disruption for local residents.
- That a great deal of work
had been done to tidy up, and
that this was to be welcomed as it had improved the appearance and safety of the area around the line
- That the improvement work at Penhelyg Halt had been welcomed
locally. A request was made that images
be shown at the next meeting.
- Would the vegetation cut back in order to complete
the work be managed in future?
- Would Network Rail's vegetation management policy return to the 'fence-to-fence' cutting policy which had previously existed?
In response, Mr Hadley noted
that the vegetation on either side
of the line had been treated in an
attempt to ensure that it would not grow back to the same extent. He added that Network
Rail's vegetation clearance policy was developing to include more extensive cutting than in the past.