The campaign to reopen the Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line and put Lampeter back on the rail map will be given a hearing in the Welsh Assembly this week.
A debate on the reopening project is planned for Wednesday 12 March 2014, thanks to Simon Thomas, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales.
Campaigners are asking rail supporters throughout Wales to contact their Assembly Members to ask them to support the campaign.
“This is a big development,” said a spokesman. “Even though our campaign for the railway has only just started, it is already beginning to attract attention.
“But most Assembly members will not have heard of our campaign yet and may not realise how important this is to our area. We need to change that.
“We are asking all of our supporters to write to Assembly members before the debate asking them to attend and speak in favour of the railway.
“We are not expecting the Welsh Government to announce that they will build the railway just yet. This is the first stage in the process but it is a really crucial one.
“Unless Assembly members are bombarded with phone calls and emails they will not know how much support there is for the railway. If they do get calls and emails from us they will sit up and take notice.”
Each person in Wales is represented by five Assembly members, one for the constituency and four for the region.
The debate follows public meetings in Lampeter when speakers called for a new railway network for west and central Wales to be created.
Lampeter Councillor Rob Phillips outlined plans for the reopening of Aberystwyth-Carmarthen with new alignments which he said would be a viable financial proposition, as well as environmentally superior, compared to road building.
The £800 million for making the Heads of the Valleys road into a dual carriageway would pay for the Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line to be rebuilt and equipped with new trains, with enough left over for free tickets for a couple of years, he said.
Welsh residents can find the contact details for their Assembly members contact details by visiting:
AWM
Sign the petition to reopen the line: 38 degrees
Traws Link Cymru