It doesn’t quite compare to the majesty of the Alpine tunnel that launches the Bernina Express trains over the Landwasser Viaduct. But due to the sheer beauty of the surrounding landscape, the Ffestiniog Tunnel is quite close.
Its construction in the 1870s was a triumph of Victorian endeavour, and its survival equally epic. Running 3.5 miles underground from Blaenau Ffestiniog, in one of the most inhospitable parts of the Conwy Valley Line, its future has long been in doubt, but it is still open and still defying the odds.
Cut through the slate bedrock, it was once the longest unlined tunnel in Europe (it is still the longest in the UK). The line carrying trains between Blaenau and Llandudno Junction reaches its highest point at 790 feet in the middle of the tunnel.
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In an area of ​​heavy rain and unlined, the Ffestiniog Tunnel has been plagued by water ingress, falling rocks and landslides over the years. It was closed for long periods in 2017 and 2019. At one point, when costly repairs were required, the writing appeared to be on the wall.
Rail enthusiasts joked that every year it was closed longer than it was open. But in 2019 Network Rail bit the bullet and approved a £2.1m rock fall protection network which appears to have done the trick. To this end, the contractor, Griffiths Civil Engineering, used new techniques to overcome the challenge of working in a 2.5-mile single-track tunnel where fumes, dust and rocks were ever-present threats.
Work concentrated on the central section of the tunnel noted on old drawings as “bastard slate”. Between 1873 and 1879, two teams of workers at either end excavated 300,000 tons of rock, progressing 8.4 feet per day, only to slow when they reached the iron-hard slates in the middle.
Even among modern engineers, shale beds are notorious for wearing out drill bits quickly. Traditional hand drilling took about an hour to fix a single two-metre bolt – and the new rock protection net required 600 stainless steel rock bolts, each 2.5 meters long. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group to get the latest stories straight to your phone
To overcome this challenge, Griffiths used hydraulic rigs mounted on rails. “This reduced the drilling time to under 10 minutes,” the company said at the time. Meanwhile, fogging units dampened dust and the use of low-emission fuel reduced the threat of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Innovations mirrored those of tunnel construction, when steam drills and ventilation systems were introduced.
The tunnel’s maintenance problems pale in comparison to those further down the line, where the railway runs close to the River Conwy. Flooding has forced several closures over the years, often for long periods. The latest disruption in April lasted just four days after Network Rail engineers worked around the clock to install more than 200 tonnes of ballast washed up near Dolgarrog station.
The southern entrance to the Ffestiniog Tunnel lies across the A470 from Zip World Llechwedd, the main tourist hub. Most visitors arrive by car, few stop in the city center 2.5 km away. Apart from being at odds with the Welsh Government’s climate agenda, this state of affairs is not doing much to propel Blaenau’s economy.
Since 1976, rail enthusiasts have wondered whether Llechwedd could be connected to the town center by restoring the old branch from Blaenau to Dinas, which was raised in the 1950s. The intention was to build a new station and run specialized rolling stock up the slope to the quarry. Nearly half a century later, the system remains on the sidelines, mired in rising costs and questionable commercial viability.
Two years ago, rail expert Chris Baker, a retired engineering professor, came up with a cheaper idea. He proposed using the existing Conwy Valley Line to run a shuttle service between Blaenau and Llechwedd. This would require a new platform at Llwechwedd to avoid having to cross the A470 by foot.
According to him, there was a lot of excess capacity on the line – at that time the section from Roman Bridge was occupied only for 45 minutes every three hours. He wrote on his blog: “With a bit of imagination in developing a signaling system to ensure safety, I would suggest that the line between the town center and Dinas could be used for a shuttle service… the line is not occupied.”
If a narrow gauge line were laid within the standard gauge line, the existing Ffestiniog trains could be used. The only stumbling block, Professor Baker said, was Network Rail and its approval process. Get all the latest Gwynedd news by subscribing to our newsletter – sent every Tuesday
The 27-mile Conwy Valley Railway was built to transport slate from the Ffestiniog quarries to a purpose-built wharf at Deganwy for export by sea (the section to Blaenau Ffestiniog was added later). Up to 500 tons of shale were shipped down the line every day.
Originally conceived as a narrow gauge track, plans were changed at the eleventh hour. This decision to choose standard gauge was to have a profound impact on the area. The line not only supercharged the region’s slate industry, but provided an outlet for goods for the market town of Llanrwst. The line has also opened up horizons for people living in the Eryri countryside.
Additionally, it stimulated the emerging tourist industry in the area, particularly at Betws-y-Coed, where a large station was built. The legacy of the hard workers who defeated the “bastard slates” and created what was then the longest unlined tunnel in Europe is still felt today.
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