On Sunday October 10th. a brief ceremony was held at the southern portal of Moelwyn tunnel to unveil a plaque commemorating their completion.
The Phase 5 supporter’s train, having been to Blaenau Ffestiniog, was halted at Tunnel South on the down trip so that supporters, along with people who were involved in the construction of the portals and indeed the construction of the tunnel itself could witness the unveiling.
Thankfully the sun shone as railway President Mike Schumann and local Member of Parliament Liz Saville-Roberts gave short speeches.
Moelwyn Tunnel was opened in June 1977, and it was always the intention to build portals to properly finish the job. Construction of the new stone tunnel portals began in November 2018, with the North end stone portal unveiled in March 2019 for the start of regular service. The South end portal was more complicated as it incorporates a wing-wall and drainage channels. Groundworks were completed during 2019 and construction of the portal commenced during the 2019/2020 winter shutdown period.
