THE North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum has carried out research which has revealed a sharp increase in rail travel over the past 15 years.

During a comparison of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) station usage figures for 1997/8 and 2011/12, the independent voluntary group found that across Wales the overall figures increased by 87.8%.

Locally, Clarbeston Road increased by 59%, while rail use at Clunderwen rose by a whopping 293%.

The introduction of additional trains from Fishguard in 2011 now gives an hourly eastbound train service from these two stations in the mornings, which has led to Clunderwen increasingly becoming the railhead of choice for the Crymych and North Eastern parts of Pembrokeshire.

The five additional services between Fishguard and Carmarthen are funded by a £1.4 million annual investment from the Welsh Government with the aim of providing west Wales with better access to the rest of the UK.

A six-month long North Pembrokeshire Transport Forum survey in 2012 revealed that local passengers are travelling far and wide from the new Fishguard and Goodwick Station for a wide variety of reasons: to visit family and friends, to go to work, to go shopping, for social/leisure/recreational reasons, to go on holiday, for day trips/short breaks, for medical appointments, for educational purposes, for environmental reasons and/or because of physical difficulties.

Recently a group of smartly dressed couples boarded the train from the new station to attend the Ladies Day at Ffos Las, journeying on to the racecourse from Llanelli station on the free courtesy bus.

Community involvement with the new station is set to expand significantly following the recent adoption of the station by POINT, Fishguard and Goodwick’s Young Persons Trust.

Their ambitious plans include checking the station each week, putting in floral displays and bird boxes and doing interpretive and heritage work to help station users learn something about the area.