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issue of defending the coast from sea and erosion needs to be discussed ‘with the relevant authority’ – the Environment Agency or the Welsh government. ‘If there was a wider problem – say the coast being undermined and the cliff behind it collapsing – I think we’d have to seek them out, to see how we could deliver a scheme that makes sure you keep the railway open and benefi ts the community.’ The Welsh network had a taste of the
chaos brought about by that eventuality in 2005, following a landslide along the Cambrian Coast at Friog Rocks, caused by the collapse of a sea-eroded cave. The line had to close, leaving passengers to face tortuous bus detours along a 50-mile stretch from Machynlleth to Pwllheli. But Langman believes things are now under control there. ‘We did some work three or four years ago to help stabilise the cliff and stop the railway falling into the sea. It’s really inaccessible – we had to have abseilers and everything.’ That’s not an exercise he wants to
repeat. However some expensive coastal defence operations carried out in Wales have managed to attract European Regional Development Fund money – £2.3m of the £8m seafront repairs at Colwyn Bay – where winter storms in 2010 caused widespread damage – and £5.5m for the £12m project at Borth, also ravaged by high seas. As the railway isn’t on the front line at
either town, Network Rail didn’t have to bear the cost. ‘At Colwyn Bay you’ve got the promenade between the railway and the sea, and other bits and pieces that are local authority or government-owned,’ says Langman. ‘We’re well back – we’ve not had problems; and at Borth we’re quite set back too. We’ve never had a consequential risk, though I guess we’ll benefi t ultimately, because if things between us and the sea were to erode, eventually it will be knocking at our door.’ But what would Network Rail do if
some devastating storm wrecked part of its infrastructure and triggered a huge unforeseen bill? Would some other project have to be sacrifi ced, or might Network Rail try to prise extra money from the government? ‘I suppose that depends on how much we’re talking about,’ says Langman. ‘There’s contingency money we can draw on… but we might need to look elsewhere. And, of course, we have insurance against a catastrophe.’ The availability of European money
for projects seen as essential in Wales has not been lost on Langman. Perhaps it’s worth lobbying the Welsh government to get extra fi nance from Brussels if that were sorely needed? ‘Finding any opportunity to lever funds into the railway is one of my principles,’ he says. ‘Third-party funding is, for me, absolutely critical.’
‘You can predict that when there’s heavy rain, the fi rst thing to fl ood will be the Conwy estuary’
Where Langman can foresee problems is
in the far north. ‘We struggle on the Conwy estuary, particularly after heavy rain in Snowdonia, which is becoming frequent,’ he says. ‘It causes wash-outs and we did a very big job up there about two years ago on drainage and a defence scheme to try and lessen the impact. ‘I don’t think you can ever stop the
fl ooding, but you can predict that when there’s heavy rain, the fi rst thing to fl ood will be the Conwy estuary, and you can even predict how far will it come up the valley and how much will it affect the railway. ‘If the trend for the rest of the UK to get
wetter continues, that’s going to become more of a problem. We’ll need to think either about a longer-term solution or whether it’s right for us just to deal with it when it happens. We might be able to work with the Welsh government and Conwy Borough council, and say “What’s the strategy for the area?” At the moment, I don’t know.’
MARCH 2012 PAGE 25
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