A group of railway engineers staged a protest on Snowdon to object to the UK Government’s decision to cancel electrification between Cardiff and Swansea.
The group formed the Campaign to Electrify Britain’s Railway after reading the Institute of Mechanical Engineers statement of the cancellation South Wales scheme.
Group spokesman Noel Dolphin, who is Director of the railway company Furrer+Frey’s Cardiff Office, said:
“We were incensed by the UK government’s decision to cancel the scheme and stop the investment in South Wales, and felt we had to do something. Electrification not only provides faster, more reliable trains,but also removes diesel emissions from the railway”.
Mumbles resident and railway project manager Raj Vadgama,said:
“When the Secretary of State cancelled electrification of the railway from Swansea to Cardiff he said it was because it was no longer needed to deliver passenger benefits. However, the National Audit Office’s report last month shows that it was solely down to cost. Thismeant rather than having passenger interest at heart, theUK Government justdid not want to spend the money in South Wales. As countries around the world ploughon with electrificationit is sad to see South Wales is being left behind. “
The 20 strong group not only hoisted banners to the top of Snowdon,but also carried a replicaof an electrification structure from Great Western to symbolically electrify the diesel Snowdon mountain railway.
Electrification would have provided local jobs through construction and long-term employment in local maintenance crews.
