Blaenau Ffestiniog Wales - The train station at Blaenau Ffestiniog should be moved to a new site closer to the A470, to accommodate more tourists.
 
That is the suggestion put forward by the chairman of the Ffestiniog Railway company, as Transport for Wales (TfW) looks for ideas on how to spend £1 million to improve the existing town centre station.
 
This is part of a wider £194 million upgrade of railway stations across the network, made after Keolis Amey's won the bid for the TfW franchise.
 
The current station serves the scenic Conwy Valley line and the popular narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway which opened in its current form in 1982.
 
But John Prideaux, chairman of the Ffestiniog Railway Company, believes this location is unsuitable for an upgraded facility.
 
Writing in the current issue of the Ffestiniog Railway magazine Mr. Prideaux, a former British Rail executive, says the scheme provides a new opportunity to create a "catalyst for change".
 
He would like to see the station moved from its current position, close to the town centre, closer to the A470 where parking facilities could be improved.
 
It would also allow the creation of a new station where passengers could cross from one train to another without having to cross tracks and allow for any future expansion.
 
Mr. Prideaux said the current station is usually called a joint station but is actually two parallel stations.
 
"The standard gauge part is owned by Network Rail and the narrow gauge by the Ffestiniog Railway. Standard gauge and narrow gauge trains have separate platforms with railway tracks between them, passengers therefore have to walk to the ends of the platforms to cross the tracks when transferring from one line to the other. This means it is inconvenient to change between the FR and Conwy Valley trains."
 
He added the current station facilities vary in quality.
 
There is a long platform canopy over the FR platforms where there are toilets and operational buildings, but the standard gauge platform only has a basic shelter.
 
"Blaenau is an interchange station and it is therefore unfortunate that the two gauges have separate platforms. The FR would like to see a much easier transfer, one meeting "access for all" step free standards. The FR would be willing to give up the track between its platform and the standard gauge if this facilitated an improved interchange station," he said.
 
Mr. Prideaux added future expansion could include a narrow-gauge branch line linking Blaenau station to the Llechwedd quarry.
 
"This could be an option for consideration at some future date, particularly if World Heritage site status (for the North Wales slate industry) is granted. This line would provide an additional attraction." he wrote.
 
Railway officials said Mr. Prideaux has already put preliminary proposals to the franchisee, Transport for Wales, and Network Rail.
 
"There are many interested parties, ideas will evolve, plans will change, and it will inevitably take time before anything happens on the ground," he said.
 
Writing in the same magazine, Colin Lea, who led Keolis Amey's bid for the TfW franchise, said, "We believe both these lines have enormous potential to grow and we want to work with the FR to help achieve this. More than 90 percent of journeys made on the Conwy Valley line each year are for leisure with over 137,000 tourist journeys. The potential for growth is huge. Such investment supports the Welsh Government's Partnership for Growth strategy for Tourism which is focused on growing tourism in a sustainable way, and thus making an increasing contribution to the economic, social, and environmental well-being of Wales."
 
Eryl Crump.