A GROUP of dedicated enthusiasts determined to help improve transport links in the Amman Valley are on the look out for new volunteers to help their cause.

The Amman Valley Railway Society (AVRS) has launched the Swansea 9 Lines project — which aims to reinstate and develop better public transport services to the valley and help create jobs opportunities for the unemployed.

And to help them in their bid, the group are appealing for kind-hearted volunteers to spare a few hours of their time and help the AVRS by working in their charity shops.

Chief executive officer of the group, Mike Smith, said: "Every little helps and just a couple of hours a week in a shop to help relieve some of the staff there would be very much appreciated.

"The shops in Ammanford, Brynaman and Pontardawe are the face of the AVRS and at the moment we have about half the number of volunteers we usually have in the summer.

"More than 90 per cent of the 2,000 people asked so far want to see a tram system operating again through Swansea and its surrounding areas."

Mr Smith met with Swansea Assembly Members Mike Hedges and Julie James on Friday to discuss the possibility of introducing a tram service on some 17 miles of unused track in and around the Heart of Wales and Swansea District line.

"We had a very positive meeting with the AMs," Mr Smith said.

"But we can do more with more help.

"The charity shops are all very well supported by the local population and the vast majority of those people say the trains should never have been stopped in the first place.

"To improve manufacturing in the area for example we need better transport links and this project ticks all the boxes.

"People in the valleys are in similar positions, people cannot afford to run their cars so better public transport is needed.

"Our vision is that by 2022 people will once again be able to jump on a tram in the Mumbles and travel out to the Black Mountain — a boon for residents and tourists alike."

robert.goodman@swwmedia.co.uk