Whose line is it anyway?

[swisstrains]

This post is from the North Wales Train News forum. It describes a telephone conversation between Network Rail Control in Manchester and the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Railway. The line mentioned in the conversation is a disused standard gauge line linking Blaenau Ffestiniog with Trawsfynydd and was last used when the Trawsfynydd power station was active.


NRC: Hello, it's Network Rail Control here, we've had a report of a
bridge strike on the line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Trawsfyndd.
We've looked on our map and it's not ours, so we've just realised
that it's probably yours.

FRC: Nope, it's not ours, not if it goes to Trawsfyndd

NRC: You sure? It's certainly not ours

FRC: It's standard gauge track

NRC: Oh really - didn't know that - it's not on any of our maps!

FRC: If it was on our line it'd be narrow guage and heading towards
Porthmadog

NRC: Ah, ok, I wonder if somebody knows if we own this!

................And these are the people that look after our railways

Crazy!............................................ .......

[paul miller]

Bless them!
Thats the problem when you get rid of railwaymen and replace them with people who know nowt about running a railway.
Ah happy days.
Paul.

[G6 UXU]

The mind boggles John, and Paul is right has well. All the best.

[Deathbyteacup]

Not even knowing the gauge of track running under the bridge, never mind who owns it, is just insane.

Network Rail clearly showing that they're not quite as on the ball as they should be, huh?

....so who *does* own the bridge?

[Shed Cat]

Maybe:-
Railtrack (Property) plc as a residual property-holding company of the old empire.
Or if it a road underbridge, bridge responsibility could be the Local or County Council's, or potentialy even the Highways Agency.

[John H-T]

It comes to something when some of us probably know more about the UK Raill system that some of the monkeys at Network Rail!

If we don't know we know where to look for the info!

Best wishes,

John H-T.