The Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway are pleased to announce that the grant funded cafe and electrical supply for their headquarters at Cynheidre is on track for completion ready for the start of the new season in mid March.
Early last year the railway were awarded grant funding towards further developing the railway and its site at Cynheidre near Llanelli. The grants comprised £40,000 (forty thousand pounds) from the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund and £20,000 (twenty thousand pounds) from Carmarthenshire County Council Targeted Finance fund.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant was used to help fund the development of a Community Hub at Cynheidre including cafe facilities. This incorporated the recycled body shell of a single car ‘Sprinter’ unit kindly provided by Transport for Wales and giving it a unique railway feel. The much needed provision of a mains electricity supply for the site also formed part of this project.
The Carmarthenshire County Council Targeted Finance Fund grant further supported the provision of electricity to the site and the development of the cafe for visitors and the local community whilst also facilitating the creation of two job opportunities at the railway.
The cafe will be formally launched to the public at 12.15pm on Saturday 19th April 2025 during the railway’s Easter event, under the brand name ‘The SuperSprinter Café’, a nod to its previous life as a commuter train. It will then be open to the public and community on selected dates throughout the rest of the year, with opening details posted on the cafe’s dedicated Facebook page and the railway’s social media outlets.
Mark Thomas, Chairman of the 100% volunteer run charity commented ‘we are very pleased to have received these grants and are delighted to report that the project is nearing completion with the cafe professionally fitted out and electricity now on site and connected up. We hope to hold an official opening ceremony early in the new operating season. We would like to thank the funding bodies for their support’.
The railway reopens to the public on Saturday 22nd March with a Spring Gala featuring three different train rides.
Please check the website at www.llanellirailway.co.uk or social media regularly for details of all future events at the railway.
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About time aswell badly needed aslong as it gets run properly and not a warm place for youngsters to hang out
Fantastic news! My late grampa drove the train on the line,fond memories being on the train!
Ben Preece
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