April 21, 2023 - 1438 views
Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, has slammed Transport for Wales for taking steps which will result in Llandudno losing a direct rail service to Manchester Airport.
The disclosure comes as part of Mrs Finch-Saunders’s long running campaign to see more direct services come to Llandudno.
In response to her question to the Welsh Government whether the Llandudno-Liverpool service is in addition to, or instead of, the current Llandudno-Manchester Airport/Piccadilly through service, Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, has stated:
“Transport for Wales plan to extend the current Llandudno to Manchester Airport service to operate from Bangor. This will increase services for North West Wales with a connection available at Llandudno Junction for passengers from Llandudno.
"Transport for Wales plan to make this change, alongside the introduction of the new Llandudno to Liverpool service.”
Commenting on the news that the service between Llandudno and Manchester Airport will be cut, Mrs. Finch-Saunders said: “The Transport for Wales plan to cut the direct rail service between Llandudno and Manchester International Airport, proves beyond doubt that the Welsh Labour Government do not understand the tourism sector in North Wales.
“Llandudno is one of the United Kingdom’s leading tourist destinations, seeing around 6.8 million visitors annually.
“The number of overnight trips taken to our glorious town is set to rise from 440,289 in 2018 to 561,339 by 2045, but for that we need to maintain existing services.
“The fact that passengers will have to change train in Llandudno Junction to reach Llandudno will inevitably deter people from visiting the town, and using the train.
“I will be contacting Transport for Wales urgently to understand how they have reached this disastrous decision, and what steps it would take to see our nation’s leading destination’s direct public transport connection to an international airport saved.”
Transport for Wales has been approached for comment.
