WE’RE being promised a ‘transformation’ of our train services through Gobowen and Chirk, following a joint venture between France and Spain to take over from Arriva Train Wales in October. But isn’t it sad no-one in Britain fancies running our rail service?

France’s Keolis and Spanish-owned Amey’s have already pledged to ‘significantly improve our passenger experience’. They paid £5 billion to win the 15-year contract that beat the Hong Kong-based Massed Transit Railway’s bid.

So the future is promising as Keolis/Amey already run Manchester’s Metrolink and London’s Docklands Light Railway. We’ve to hang fire until later this month for finer details of its plans for services through our stations, but don’t we deserve better after Arriva’s half-hearted service?

Long road to go down

STAYING with rail, our Heritage Railway volunteers reckon they’ve ‘identified an operator’ to run a single back and fro shuttle tram between Oswestry and Gobowen, complete with a halt at our Orthopaedic Hospital. I wish them all the luck in the world, but there’s a long iron road to go down yet, like a necessary bridge to span the A5 with its dreams of becoming a dual carriageway. If successful, it would return us to the days of the 1960s when our steam flyer plied the route.

Heritage cash blow

ALONG with the blighted Maesbury Road businesses as work continues, limited access to Oswestry’s Heritage Centre slashed its takings by half. Safety fencing at St Oswald’s Church blocked the natural route to the historic building, but Reflections has good news – progress with water drainage work could be completed in just over a week. The centre was concerned no proper signing or notification had aggravated the issue, losing it irretrievable pounds!

Our caring firemen

DOES Oswestry have the most caring fire and rescue team around? My wife, walking our cocker spaniel into town along Morda Road as a fire engine approached, kneeled down to pacify her as the siren got louder. The firemen spotted this and switched it off, only to resume the hollering once it had passed.

Hidden gem

‘IMPRESSIVE’ hardly sums up my public tour of the massive but hidden TG Group’s landfill, reclamation and Colemere nature reserve site near Cockshutt last Tuesday. It showed how what we throw away can command cash, how sand deposited millions of years ago is helping build the homes of tomorrow and how restoring excavated areas can end up outstandingly beautiful. Congratulations TG – your efforts in recycling and renewing must not go unrecognised!

£500,000 facelift

LLANGOLLEN’S Castle Street is to get a £500,000 facelift. It’s being spruced up after Denbighshire Council was handed a £1.2m pot by the Welsh Government. Four projects were put to the cabinet last week and Castle Street was awarded just under half of it.