The Cambrian Line is a railway from Shrewsbury (in Shropshire, England) to Welshpool, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The railway runs first through the central part of Wales and then along the coast of Cardigan Bay.
The railway is scenic, with parts travelling through the Cambrian Mountains or along the Cambrian Coast. This latter section travels over the Barmouth Bridge, which crosses the River Mawddach.
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Route
The line diverges at Dovey Junction, just after Machynlleth, to serve either Aberystwyth, or Pwllheli via the Cambrian Coast Line. The stations on these routes are listed below.
Cambrian Line
- Shrewsbury railway station
- Connection with the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line, Shrewsbury-Chester line and Welsh Marches Line.
- Welshpool railway station
- Connection with Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
- Newtown railway station
- Caersws railway station
- Carno - closed station with strong local movement to reopen[1]
- Machynlleth railway station
- Dovey Junction railway station
- Cambrian Coast Line diverges to Pwllheli (see below)
- Borth railway station
- Aberystwyth railway station
- Connection with Vale of Rheidol Railway
- Former connection with the Carmarthen-Lampeter-Aberystwyth line
Cambrian Coast Line
- Machynlleth
- Dovey Junction
- Penhelig
- Aberdyfi
- Tywyn
- Connection with Talyllyn Railway
- Tonfanau
- Llwyngwril
- Fairbourne
- Connection with Fairbourne Railway
- Morfa Mawddach
- Barmouth
- Llanaber
- Talybont
- Dyffryn Ardudwy (Morfa Dyffryn)
- Llanbedr
- Pensarn
- Llandanwg
- Harlech
- Tygwyn
- Talsarnau
- Llandecwyn
- Penrhyndeudraeth
- Minffordd
- Connection with Ffestiniog Railway
- Porthmadog
- Connections with Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railway
- Criccieth
- Penychain railway station
- Abererch
- Pwllheli
History
The line is made up of:
- Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway between Shrewsbury and Buttington
- Oswestry and Newtown Railway between Buttington Junction and Newtown
- Llanidloes and Newtown Railway between Newtown and Moat Lane Junction
- Newtown and Machynlleth Railway between Moat Lane Junction and Machynlleth
- Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth/Pwllheli
These lines were constructed between 1855 and 1869. From Buttington Junction west became part of the Cambrian Railways in 1864.
The Cambrian Railways became part of the Great Western Railway and on nationalisation these lines were operated first by the Western Region of British Railways and later by the London Midland Region. In a later reorganisation, passenger services were operated by the Regional Railways Central sector. Following privatisation in the mid 1990s, passenger services were first operated by Central Trains, then by Wales & Borders Trains from 2001 and, since late 2003, by Arriva Trains Wales.
The last scheduled freight over the line was in 1993. In 2003, freight multiple unit trials were undertaken for a period of five weeks, transporting timber from Aberystwyth, via Wrexham General railway station to a woodchip factory in Chirk. The trial used a pair of British Rail MPV units sandwiched around a rake of seven open-sided timber wagons.
Closed stations
Although the line survived the Beeching Axe, the number of stations on the lines was heavily rationalised in the 1960s onwards. The stations closed include the following:
Shrewsbury to Dovey Junction:
- Buttington Junction (connection with the Cambrian Railways line to Oswestry)
- Montgomery
- Abermule
- Moat Lane Junction (connection with Mid Wales Railway to Cardiff)
- Pontdolgoch
- Carno
- Talerddig
- Llanbrynmair
- Commins Coch Halt
- Cemmaes Road (connection with the branch line to Dinas Mawddwy)
Dovey Junction to Aberystwyth:
- Glandyfi
- Ynyslas
- Llandre
- Bow Street
Dovey Junction to Pwllheli:
- Gogarth
- Abertafol
- Llangelynin
- Black Rock Halt
- Afon Wen (connection with the Afon Wen - Caernarfon line)
- The Ruabon bound platforms at Barmouth Junction were also closed in 1965 and the station renamed Morfa Mawddach.
Politics
The line acquired the name "the line of the seven marginals", owing to the fact it ran in the 1960s through 7 Labour marginal constituencies, when a civil servant brought attention of his minister Richard Crossman, Minister of Housing and Local Government, to this fact. As a result, because of the political consequences thought to be attendant on railway closures, though scheduled for such treatment it has continued to survive.
Performance
With long sections of single line, limited passing points and tightly-diagrammed rolling stock, minor disruptions on the Cambrian Line quickly lead to compound delays and partial cancellations. While the coast line is generally a good performer, services between Aberystwyth and Birmingham New Street have deteriorated hugely since the early 2000s and are now the least punctual in Britain. [2] Late running services will often terminate short at Wolverhampton to make up lost time.
In Arriva Trains Wales' performance statistics the Cambrian Line is routinely the worst-performing service group.
| Service Group | Punctuality 16 Sep - 13 Oct 2007 | Punctuality 12 months to 13 Oct 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Cambrian | 90.2% | 88.2% |
| Marches | 95.2% | 93.7% |
| Wales-England | 97.1% | 95.8% |
| South, West, Central Wales | 95.5% | 94.0% |
| Valley Lines | 98.1% | 95.1% |
| North Wales Inter Urban | 98.1% | 97.7% |
| North Wales Rural | 91.8% | 92.3% |
Line upgrade
In October 2006, it was announced that Network Rail would pilot the European Rail Traffic Management System on the Cambrian Line. The ERTMS will allow headways between trains using the same track to be reduced without impacting on safety, allowing a more frequent service. Should the pilot scheme be successful, the system is expected to be rolled out on other key rural routes within the UK.[2]
The upgrade is expected to cost £59 million and was to be completed by December 2008.[3] However, as of May 2009[update], only around 50% of the cabling has been laid and around one third of the masts erected.[4] Ansaldo STS are the principle contractors for the upgrade with Thales as sub conctractors for the Telecomms.
Ansaldo is installing ERTMS In Cab ETCS (European Train Control System) level 2, class 1, specification V2.3.0. As the name suggests, the driver receives the instructions for movement on the cab display. This level does not require conventional fixed signals - all the existing signals and RETB boards will be removed. Additionally, the line side speed signs will be redundant - drivers are given the appropriate maximum speed on the cab display.
In 2007, a new flat crossing section was installed at the intersection of the Cambrian Line and the Welsh Highland Railway (all parties have agreed this crossing shall be called "Cae Pawb Crossing"). The track section now awaits connecting to the rest of the Welsh Highland narrow-gauge route, which is being re-laid.
Service pattern
Presently, trains between Birmingham New Street and the Cambrian Line run at an approximate two hour frequency usually consisting of two two-car units which divide/combine at Machynlleth; one portion forming the Pwllheli train, the other forming the Aberystwyth portion. According to http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=4858 the new signalling system and other infrastructure changes will allow the frequency of trains to/from Aberystwyth to double.
Birmingham International
After December 2008, most trains are now extended to Birmingham International railway station, and will make an additional call at Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station.[5]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Arriva Trains Wales Performance Statistics. Source
- ^ "ERTMS National implementation plan" (.pdf). Department for Transport. September 2007. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/Interopandstandards/europeanstandardisation/ertms. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
- ^ Webster, Ben (2006-10-17), "Digital sensors will reduce gap between trains during rush hour", The Times: 23, http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article602938.ece, retrieved 2009-05-31
- ^ "ERTMS progresses", Rail Magazine (618): 15, 2009-05-20
- ^ Arriva Trains Wales. "Proposed timetable 2008". Severn Tunnel Action Group. http://www.saveseverntunnel.co.uk/timetable-08/Arriva%20Dec%2008%20-%20May%202009%20Draft%20Timetable%20Major%20Changes%20Poster%20-%20Dec%202008_3.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
External links
- Cambrian Lines Partnership
- Coambrian Coast Railway Visitor Guide
- Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers' Association
- Usage statistics for stations on the line
- Rail Magazine
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