Frequently asked questions
What is WelTAG and at what stage is the project?
WelTAG (Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance) is the Welsh Government's process for developing and assessing transport projects to ensure they address a genuine need, deliver value for money and contribute to wider economic, social and environmental goals. It provides a structured approach from identifying a problem through to project delivery and evaluation.
The Bangor Gateway project is currently at WelTAG Stage 2 (Outline Business Case). At this stage, a shortlist of options is being assessed in more detail to identify the preferred solution, including consideration of costs, benefits, deliverability and likely impacts. This follows Stage 0 (Case for Change) and Stage 1 (Strategic Outline Case), and precedes Stage 3 (Full Business Case), Stage 4 (Delivery) and Stage 5 (Monitoring and Evaluation).
In simple terms, Stage 2 means the project has moved beyond identifying the need and potential options and is now developing the evidence required to select a preferred scheme before seeking approval to proceed to detailed design and delivery.
Why is my feedback being requested and what happens next?
We are seeking feedback to help shape the future of Bangor Station and ensure the proposals reflect the needs of people who use the station and surrounding area. Public feedback will help us understand current travel patterns, identify local priorities and assess which options best improve access, interchange, accessibility, parking, and the overall station environment.
Your views will be considered alongside technical assessments and project objectives as part of the WelTAG process to help identify a preferred option which can be taken forward to delivery over the coming years.
Why are improvements at Bangor Station being considered?
Bangor Station is a key transport hub for North-West Wales and is the busiest station in North Wales, serving around 720,000 passengers each year. It provides access to rail services, connects with local and regional bus networks and supports access to Bangor University, the city centre, and visitor destinations across the region. It is also the principal rail gateway into Gwynedd and Eryri, and an important interchange point for onward travel across the region.
Despite its strategic importance, the station and surrounding area do not provide the quality of experience expected of a major regional transport hub. The station environment is dominated by roads and parking, creating an unattractive arrival point for visitors, students, and residents. Wayfinding is poor, making it difficult for passengers to navigate between the station, city centre, university and other key destinations. Bus and rail services are not well integrated, while facilities for walking, wheeling and cycling are limited, reducing opportunities for sustainable travel. The station will also need to accommodate future growth in passenger numbers as rail services increase across North Wales.
The Bangor Gateway project provides an opportunity to transform the station into a welcoming gateway to Bangor, Eryri and the wider region. Proposed improvements could create a more attractive public space, improve connections between rail, bus, walking and cycling routes, enhance facilities for coach services, and increase parking capacity to support the station's wide catchment area. The project also supports wider ambitions for Network North Wales, helping Bangor Station play a stronger role in connecting people to jobs, education, tourism, and public transport across the region.
What are the objectives of the project?
The Bangor Gateway project has four objectives that respond directly to the issues identified at Bangor Station and the opportunities to strengthen its role as a regional transport hub.
1. Create an attractive and welcoming station environment.
Context: The station currently provides a poor first impression, with large areas dominated by parking and vehicle movements, limited public realm features and a lack of attractive spaces for passengers and visitors. Improving the station environment offers an opportunity to create a gateway that better reflects the importance of Bangor and a gateway to Eryri.
2. Improve access by all modes to the rail network at Bangor Station.
Context: Current interchange arrangements are fragmented, bus and rail connections are not well integrated, and station access does not fully support the station's wide regional catchment. Improving access will help Bangor accommodate future passenger growth and support the wider ambitions of the Network North Wales programme.
3. Enhance walking, wheeling and cycling connectivity throughout the station boundary.
Context: Existing walking and cycling routes within the station boundary can be difficult to navigate and poorly signed. There is also limited cycle infrastructure. Enhancements will help create safer, more convenient and more accessible journeys, improving safety and the customer experience at Bangor Station.
4. Improve facilities for coach services at Bangor Station
Context: Bangor Station will become the terminus of the TaithCymru service, providing a direct coach service to Carmarthen via key destinations across West Wales. Whilst this can be accommodated at the existing station, improvements to facilities would enhance the customer experience for rail, bus, and coach passengers.
Will there be new bus or rail services included as part of these proposals?
No. The purpose of the proposals at Bangor Station is to improve customer experience at this key transport interchange, tying-in with current rail and bus services that serve the site.
It should however be noted that, as part of Network North Wales, rail services along the North Wales Main Line increased by around 50% in May 2026.
In addition, there are plans to franchise the bus network by 2029 in North Wales, with a public consultation on the future of the bus network in North Wales undertaken in September 2026. The franchising of bus services enables decisions about bus services in Wales, including routes, timetables, fares, hours of operation, and service quality standards, to be made by Welsh Government and Transport for Wales, in partnership with Local Authorities. Private bus operators would then bid for contracts to run services to our specification, enabling us to ensure the bus network better serves communities, workplaces, and education.
Further information on the plan for bus franchising can be found on our website, at the following link: Bus franchising | Transport for Wales.
Why do the majority of the options to the rear (south) of the station include a new access via Euston Road?
The existing access to the rear (south) of the station is narrow and has poor visibility to Caernarfon Road. This is a particular issue in relation to coach access, with the proposal to provide the ability for a coach stop facility, for the TaithCymru service, to the rear (south) of the station.
To enable this access, and to provide a better access for passengers to the station, a new access that links to Euston Road is proposed. This road will include facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, tying-in with future aspirations to extent the active travel network towards Ysbyty Gwynedd to the west.
What is TaithCymru?
TaithCymru is a proposed new long-distance coach service connecting Bangor and Carmarthen, with stops including Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Dolgellau, Machynlleth, Aberystwyth, and Aberaeron. The service is designed to provide a faster, simpler and more comfortable way to travel between north and south west Wales, with journey times expected to be over an hour quicker than existing public transport options. It will also connect with rail, local bus, and TrawsCymru services, making longer journeys across Wales easier and more convenient.
TaithCymru is particularly significant for Bangor Station, as it will be the key interchange and the northern end of the route. This will strengthen the station's role as a public transport gateway for the region, connecting communities across Gwynedd and Ynys Môn with destinations throughout Mid and South-West Wales.
The service supports the Bangor Gateway project's ambition to create a better integrated transport hub. It will also help connect more people to employment, education, healthcare, and tourism opportunities while encouraging a shift away from car travel and supporting future passenger growth at the station.
The TaithCymru service is planned to launch in October 2026.
What is Network North Wales?
Network North Wales provides the strategic vision for transforming public transport across the region. It is a long-term, multi-billion-pound vision led by Transport for Wales to create an integrated public transport network across North Wales. The programme will deliver more frequent rail services, new bus and coach connections, improved stations, simpler ticketing, better links to major employment centres, and enhanced connections with the north west of England and the rest of Wales. At its heart is the ambition to provide a joined-up network where rail, bus, walking, wheeling and cycling work together to make sustainable travel easier and more attractive.
The programme has already realised a 50% increase in services on the North Wales Main Line in May 2026, creating faster and more frequent connections for passengers travelling across the region and beyond. This is expected to increase passenger numbers and strengthen Bangor Station’s role as a gateway to North-West Wales.
The Bangor Gateway project is being developed as a key component of Network North Wales, through supporting wider ambitions to improve access to jobs, education, tourism, and local services, while encouraging more sustainable travel choices.