Porthmadog Gwynedd Wales - Railway services at a historic station will be resumed next weekend after a major, three year makeover which cost more than £1 million.
 
Harbour station at Porthmadog is where the Ffestiniog Railway from Blaenau Ffestiniog meets the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) from Caernarfon.
 
Since the latter re-started running services to Porthmadog in 2011 trains have had to share the cramped facilities in the town.
 
The single platform meant only one train at a time could be handled.
 
And because this platform faced Blaenau Ffestiniog it meant trains from the Caernarfon direction had to run onto the Cob Embankment and be towed into the platform by another locomotive.
 
When the train departed the procedure was reversed.

   

   

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway spokesman Andrew Thomas said staff and volunteers had become very good at the "Porthmadog Shuffle" which was popular with railway enthusiasts.
 
"But it was never planned this situation would be permanent. During the rebuilding of the last section of the WHR from Rhyd Ddu to Porthmadog serious consideration was given to a complete revamp of the station at Porthmadog. After much deliberation we came up with a plan, titled phase 5, which involved widening the Cob for about 200 metres and building a new platform to allow trains from both Blaenau and Caernarfon to run into the station at the same time," he said.
 
The work is part of an ambitious project to upgrade facilities in the next decade.
 
Plans include building new carriages and improved storage facilities.
 
Work on widening the Cob started in November 2011 and most of the work was carried out by contractors and railway services were not affected.
 
During the winter of 2012, after the newly laid stone sourced from the nearby Minffordd quarry had settled into place, a new seawall was built and work started on a new signal box.
 
Volunteers, including apprentices from Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, were involved in this part of the project which again did not impact on services.
 
But when the last train of the summer season ran last November the station was closed and most of the track lifted in a massive operation meticulously planned to ensure it was done to time.
 
Points were installed and slowly the new platform built as the £1.2 million project, £600,000 of it obtained from the Welsh Government Station Improvement Fund, took shape.
 
Contractors were joined by more than 150 volunteers on the rebuild.
 
With the new platform away from the main station buildings new facilities for passengers have been built.
 
The former platform has been widened considerably and a new beer garden for Spooner's bar, located in the old goods shed, built.
 
This includes glass screens to keep the wind out.
 
The mile long track across the Cob was relaid by volunteers and apprentices from Network Rail.
 
The track was laid on plastic sleepers, the first time such sleepers have been used on a narrow gauge line.
 
Officials hope they will last longer in the harsh conditions than the traditional wooden or metal sleepers.
 
As part of the work the footpath across the Cob has been completely resurfaced in a joint project with Gwynedd Council and part of it fenced.
 
Mr. Thomas added, "Porthmadog handles more passengers each year than the standard gauge station at Llandudno, and three times as many as Porthmadog's Cambrian Coast station."
 
Trains are scheduled to restart running from the station next Saturday with the first departure being at 10:10 to Blaenau Ffestiniog follwed 35 minutes later by a train to Caernarfon.
 
The new station will be officially opened in May by Transport Miniter Edwina Hart.
 
Eryl Crump.