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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 benefits 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 benefit 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 sacrificed, 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 finance 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 first thing
to flood 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
flooding, but you can predict that when
there’s heavy rain, the first thing to flood
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