BARRY'S appeal as a visitor destination is on track after work officially got under way on an ambitious Barry Action project.

A new section of the town's steam railway track is being laid, linking the existing two-mile line between Barry Island and The Waterfront through the former EWS depot to a new platform alongside the existing Skills Training Centre.

Paving the way for the first link of its kind in Wales to the national UK rail network, heritage steam trains will run through Barry on the Vale line to Bridgend, and other parts of Britain.

Skills training will increase through developing the former EWS depot, complementing the existing facilities of the Skills Training Centre, where the new line terminates.

Barry Action, the partnership between the Welsh Development Agency and the Vale of Glamorgan Council, has been financially supported by the Assembly's Local Regeneration Fund grant.

The new one-mile track links to the existing steam railway line near the north end of the Causeway.

Running through the former EWS wagon depot to a new platform being constructed adjacent to the Skills Centre Building, it will be easily accessible via the new footpath from the town centre and the Gladstone Road Bridge.

Vale of Glamorgan Assembly Member Jane Hutt and Cllr Mike Harvey, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for Economic Development and Leisure, helped ease the first piece of track into position.

Chairman of the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company Jeff Morgan said: "This is a great development for the steam railway in Barry, which will take us a significant way to providing a major attraction for the town."

Jane Hutt added: "People's perception of Barry is rightly beginning to change as a result of these developments.

This expansion is a further indication of the innovative projects under way in the town. It brings visitors and local people in, generates revenue, encourages community input, and opens up access to training and skills opportunities."