The possibility of a land train running through Tenby as a tourist attraction, whilst also connecting visitors to parts of the town during summer pedestrianisation, is being explored.

The Mayor of Tenby, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, and fellow town councillors recently met with Russell and Laurence Warburton of the specialist company Land Train Hire Nationwide, along with Hubert Mathias transport manager at Pembrokeshire County Council, to hold a scoping exercise in Tenby.

Councillors have pointed to the possibility of introducing a land train service over the summer period as a way to offset the loss of the park and ride provision from the North Beach car park, which has resulted in a loss of access to Tenby’s harbour area, particularly for disabled people and elderly visitors and residents.

Mr. Russell Warburton explained that the rules governing land trains were that they had to be a tourist attraction and could not specifically be used to provide a park and ride function.

Clr. Laurence Blackhall said that it would be seen as a way of reconnecting parts of the town that were presently disconnected through the pedestrianisation scheme, as well as offering visitors the ability to see parts of the town.

A land train could carry between 15 and 22 passengers per carriage with a maximum of three carriages, and could also offer a running commentary on various attractions and sites en-route.

Mr. Mathias explained that the county council were prepared to look into the idea as it was a good concept, but from the authority’s point of view they had to make sure that all legalities were covered and that it would work in Tenby. He suggested that the town council draw up a proposed route for the county council to consider, and following a walkabout councillors agreed that they would devise a proposed route to include attractions and pick-up and drop-off points for further consideration.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, Clr. Mrs. Lane said that the scoping exercise had proved quite ‘exciting’ into exploring the possibilities of how a land train in Tenby would work.

“It would certainly benefit parts of the town, but we would have to get the route approved,” she said.

Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter said that the representatives from Land Train Hire Nationwide had been very ‘helpful and positive’ and showed exactly what an attraction it would be for the resort. She said that it seemed that Mr. Mathias from the county council wasn’t too keen at first, but seemed to come around after the benefits of such an attraction were pointed out to him.

Clr. Mrs. Lane said that a special meeting would be called to consider the options further.