Cambrian Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cambrian Line
LUECKE
Welsh Marches Line
HLUECKE ABZlg
Shrewsbury to Chester Line
BHF
Shrewsbury
WBRÜCKE
River Severn
ABZld HLUECKE
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line
STR
(Severn Bridge Junction)
ABZlf HLUECKE
Welsh Marches Line
BRÜCKE1
A5
GRENZE
England and Wales Border
BUE
A458
BHF
Welshpool
WBRÜCKE
River Severn
BRÜCKE2
A490
BRÜCKE2
A489
BHF
Newtown
BRÜCKE2
A483
BRÜCKE2
A489
WBRÜCKE
River Severn
eABZlf exHLUECKE
Mid Wales Railway to Cardiff
BUE
A489
WBRÜCKE
River Severn
BHF
Caersws
utexSTRlg STR
former Corris Railway
uexHSTe BHF
Machynlleth
BHF
Dovey Junction
STRrg ABZrf
WBRÜCKE STR
River Dyfi
TUNNEL2 BHF
Borth
TUNNEL2 eABZrg exHLUECKE
to Carmarthen
TUNNEL2 KBFe
Aberystwyth
HST
Penhelig
TUNNEL2
BHF
Aberdovey
STRlf STRlg
utSTRlg STR
Talyllyn Railway
uHSTe eDST
Tywyn Wharf
BHF
Tywyn
HST
Tonfanau
HST uHSTa
Fairbourne
STR utSTRlf
Fairbourne Railway
HST
Morfa Mawddach
exHLUECKE eABZrd
to Dolgellau
BRÜCKE
Barmouth Bridge
TUNNEL2
BHF
Barmouth
HST
Llanaber
HST
Talybont
HST
Dyffryn Ardudwy
HST
Llanbedr
HST
Pensarn
HST
Llandanwg
BHF
Harlech
HST
Tygwyn
HST
Talsarnau
HST
Llandecwyn
WBRÜCKE
River Dwyryd
utSTRlg BHF
Penrhyndeudraeth
uCPICl CPICr
Minffordd
uSTRlf UKRZu uSTRlg
Ffestiniog Railway
utSTRlg STR uxHSTe
Porthmadog Harbour
ueABZlf eKRZ uexSTRrf
Welsh Highland Railway
uHSTe STR
Porthmadog (WHR) station
BUE
A487
BHF
Porthmadog
HST
Penychain
eHST
Black Rock
BHF
Criccieth
eHST
Afon Wen
exHLUECKE eABZrf
to Caernarfon
HST
Penychain
HST
Abererch
KBFe
Pwllheli

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 very scenic, with parts travelling through the Cambrian Mountains or along the Cambrian Coast. This latter section travels over the spectacular Barmouth Bridge, which crosses the River Mawddach.

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] Cambrian Line

[edit] Cambrian Coast Line

[edit] History

The lines from Welshpool to Aberystwyth and from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli make up the surviving sections of the Cambrian Railways main line (constructed between 1855 and 1869).

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.

[edit] 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:

Dovey Junction to Aberystwyth:

Dovey Junction to Pwllheli:

[edit] 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 [3].

In Arriva Trains Wales' performance statistics the Cambrian Line is routinely the worst-performing service group.

Cambrian Line Performance Comparison [1]
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%

[edit] 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 the gap between trains using the same track to be reduced without impacting safety, meaning services will be more frequent. 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 be completed by December 2008.[3]

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Arriva Trains Wales Performance Statistics. Source: [[1]]
  2. ^ ERTMS National implementation plan (.pdf). Department for Transport (September 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  3. ^ Webster, Ben (2006-10-17) "Digital sensors will reduce gap between trains during rush hour". The Times, p. 23.


Languages