A narrow gauge steam train - powered by Alice - the little Welsh engine has enthralled North Wales visitors for over 50 years.
This very special heritage railway that takes a nine mile shoreline journey alongside Bala Lake in the heart of Snowdonia National Park is now being expanded into Bala town centre to power the tourism industry.
The Bala Lake Railway Trust's ambitious 'Red Dragon Project' has achieved a major breakthrough with the approval of planning permission for its long awaited approximately £4 million extension plans.
Crucial to this success has been the socio-economic funding provided by Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), whose financial backing has played a pivotal role in enabling the project to reach this milestone after a decade of perseverance.
This follows an earlier setback in 2022 when planning permission was initially denied. However, with strong encouragement to revise and re-submit the application, the Trust turned to NRS for support. Through its socio-economic scheme, we awarded £36,725 to revise the expired technical reports and additional surveys that were instrumental in resubmitting the planning application successfully.
Bala Lake Railway Trust supporters
Tom Williams, NRS Trawsfynydd Site Director, said: "We are committed to fostering growth, driving transformation, and ensuring sustainability. Our support for the Bala Lake Railway Trust's Red Dragon Project exemplifies our dedication to socio-economic development. We are proud to contribute to a project that not only preserves heritage but also promises £420,000 annual economic growth and the creation of 20 new jobs in the region's vital tourism sector."
Bala Lake Railway Trustee, Toby Watkins, added: "The value of the generous help and support from NRS cannot be underestimated. We are extremely grateful to them for their faith in us and their understanding of the huge socio-economic impact of our project.
"Their support on several occasions is one of the best cases of NRS helping a local community. Without their valuable assistance at this crucial stage of our project it would have taken us years to progress to where we now are; ready to extend a thriving heritage railway into Bala town."
The successful approval marks a significant step forward, and the Trust's achievements would not have been possible without NRS's continued financial support. With planning consent now in hand, we are poised to begin the hard work of construction, turning our long-held vision into reality when the funding for this phase is secured."
Trawsfynydd Site Director Tom Williams with the train crew
NRS is part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group, which has invested over £60 million of direct socio-economic funding across the UK over the last five years, leveraging millions of pounds of further investment from partners, to support significant projects that enable permanent and sustainable change in its site communities.
You can watch a video of Alice, representatives from Bala Lake Railway Trust and members of the NDA and Trawsfynydd site socio-economic teams
