Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MS Adam Price has called for the Heart of Wales train line to be restored as a matter of priority by the British Government.

The line, which runs through the Amman and Towy Valley, is currently closed entirely between Llanelli and Craven Arms, as a result of a freight train derailment and fire on August 26 and because of flooding and damage caused by Storm Francis, also in August. As such, replacement road transport is running along the entire Heart of Wales route between Swansea and Shrewsbury and customers are strongly advised to check before they travel.

In August extreme weather caused severe damage to the railway near Llandrindod Wells forcing the railway in mid-Wales to be closed before a freight train fire and derailment at Llangennech just weeks later, with the storm damage expected to be finished in November, while the section of the Heart of Wales line near Llangennech will reopen in the New Year.

The responsibility for the restoration of the line lies with Network Rail, as that aspect of the national railway infrastructure that is the non-devolved responsibility of the British Government.

Adam Price said: “The Heart of Wales line is an important piece of rail infrastructure that serves many communities in the constituency, and these communities need this service restored as soon as possible. In the current pandemic, access for rural communities to public transport is becoming increasingly important to their ability to undertake any essential travel.

"I would urge Mr Johnson and the UK Government to focus their efforts on areas in need of dire attention such as this, which are well within their non-devolved jurisdiction, as opposed to stepping into devolved areas like the M4 relief road and undermining the principle of the devolution."