South Wales Main Line

South Wales Main Line
0⅓ London Paddington Great Western main line 77¼ Swindon Golden Valley line Wootton Bassett Great Western main line to Bristol Temple Meads Brinkworth Little Somerford Malmesbury branch Hullavington Alderton Tunnel Badminton Chipping Sodbury Tunnel 2 mi 924 yd / 4.06 km Chipping Sodbury Westerleigh Junction Cross Country Route Bristol and Gloucester Railway to Westerleigh goods depot Coalpit Heath Wessex Main Line and Great Western main line Winterbourne 117¾ Bristol Temple Meads Bristol–Exeter line 116¾ Lawrence Hill 116¼ Stapleton Road Severn Beach line 111¾ Bristol Parkway 113⅓ Filton Abbey Wood Filton Triangle depot Henbury Loop Line 113⅓ Patchway Patchway Tunnel 1 mi 2 km 116½ Pilning Severn Tunnel 4 mi 624 yd 7.01 km England Wales Gloucester–Newport line MoD Caerwent Caldicot 123½ Severn Tunnel Junction Undy Halt Magor Flying junction Bishton Crossing Llanwern steelworks Llanwern Goods line to Uskmouth East Usk Maindee Junction Welsh Marches line GWR Bridge over River Usk Monmouthshire Railway Newport (Mill Street) 133½ Newport Hillfield Tunnel 770 yd 704 m Gaer Junction Alexandra Dock Ebbw Valley Railway Ebbw Junction Ebbw River Marshfield Wentlooge Freightliner terminal River Rhymney Long Dyke Junction Roath Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes Cardiff Queen Street Cardiff Bay 145¼ Cardiff Central River Taff Cardiff Canton TMD Vale of Glamorgan line Ninian Park Leckwith Junction Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes to Pontypridd Ely Main Line River Ely St Fagans River Ely Peterston River Ely River Ely Pontyclun River Ely Llantrisant & Taff Vale Junction Railway 156¼ Llanharan 161½ Pencoed Vale of Glamorgan Line 165¼ Bridgend Maesteg Line River Ogmore 171½ Pyle Water Street Junction Goods line to Tondu Margam Knuckle Yard Port Talbot Steelworks (Port of Port Talbot) Port Talbot Parkway Margam Halt River Afan 179¾ Baglan Baglan Bay 181½ Briton Ferry Court Sart Junction Swansea District line 183⅓ Neath Neath Canal River Neath Vale of Neath Railway Tennant Canal 187⅓ Skewen Swansea District line to Llanelli 188¾ Llansamlet Swansea Vale Railway Llansamlet cutting Landore viaduct over River Tawe Landore High Level Swansea Loop East Junction Landore TMD 191⅓ Swansea Swansea Loop West Junction Landore Junction West Wales line

The South Wales Main Line (Welsh: Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the core London-Bristol line at Royal Wootton Bassett near Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.

Great Western Railway operates High Speed Trains between London and South Wales and services between Cardiff and South West England. CrossCountry provides services from Cardiff to Nottingham via Severn Tunnel Junction and thence the Gloucester to Newport Line via Gloucester and Birmingham. Arriva Trains Wales operates services between South Wales, and North Wales and the Midlands on the line.

It is planned to electrify the line using the AC overhead system, with completion by 2018.

History

The original route of the Great Western Railway (GWR) between London and South Wales, after the opening of Brunel's Chepstow Railway Bridge in 1852, left the Bristol-bound Great Western Main Line at Swindon, proceeding via Stroud, Gloucester and Chepstow before rejoining the line as we know it today at Severn Tunnel Junction. This gave rise to the nickname 'Great Way Round'.

In 1886, the opening of the Severn Tunnel brought the opportunity of a more direct route to South Wales, and trains from Swindon to Newport and beyond were routed via Bristol and the Severn Tunnel. This route leaves the one we know today at Royal Wootton Bassett near Swindon rejoining it close to Patchway station.

The route used today was established in 1903 with the building of what is often known as the 'Badminton Line'.^[1] This involved the construction of about 33 miles (53 km) of new track including two tunnels at Alderton and Sodbury between Royal Wootton Bassett and Patchway. Not only did this provide a more direct route for traffic to and from South Wales, the gradient was easier for coal trains to negotiate, and it was thought that the line would be a boost to what was, at the time of building, the expanding port of Fishguard. This was the GWR's connection with trans-Atlantic ocean liner departures.

Infrastructure

Four track railway approaching Cardiff from Newport

There are four tracks from Severn Tunnel Junction through Newport to Cardiff Central, with two tracks on the remaining sections.^[2] Multiple-aspect signals are controlled from several power signal boxes including Swindon, Bristol and two in Cardiff. Over the August Bank Holiday weekend 2016 control of the signals between Westerleigh Junction and Pilning was switched over to the Thames Valley Signalling Centre. These signals now carry the prefix 'BL'.

The maximum line speed from London to Coalpit Heath is 125 mph (200 km/h); 90 mph (145 km/h) from Coalpit Heath to Newport; 90 mph (145 km/h) from Newport to east of Bridgend;^[3] 75 mph (120 km/h) from east of Bridgend to Swansea Loop North junction (with a small section of 100 mph (160 km/h) track through Pyle station); and 40 mph (65 km/h) from Swansea Loop North Junction to Swansea.^[2]

Associated routes

A diversionary route exists if the Severn Tunnel is closed. This takes trains from Severn Tunnel Junction to Gloucester, from where they can rejoin the main line either by the Golden Valley Line to Swindon, or the Cross-Country Route and reverse at Bristol Parkway.

If the line is closed between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, an alternative route exists along the Vale of Glamorgan Line.

Half of peak High Speed Trains and most off peak trains continue from Cardiff Central to Swansea, with a few continuing to Carmarthen or in summer, Pembroke Dock.

The local service between Swansea and Cardiff is branded Swanline. The urban network within and surrounding Cardiff, including the Maesteg Line, is referred to as Valley Lines.

Plans

Traffic levels on the Great Western Main Line are rising faster than the national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Great Western Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand, Network Rail plan to implement a new study in 2008. In the meantime, their 2007 Business Plan includes the provision of extra platform capacity at Cardiff Central, Newport and Bristol Parkway, also resignalling and line speed improvements in South Wales, most of which would be delivered in 2010–2014.

Reading railway station is currently undergoing a major redevelopment and there is a proposed future link to Heathrow Airport directly from Reading under the Heathrow Airtrack scheme.

Electrification

The South Wales Main Line is one of the last of the major inter-city routes in Great Britain to remain un-electrified. The government announced in July 2009 a scheme to electrify the South Wales Main Line as part of a wider scheme of electrification on the Great Western Main Line. By 2017, the line from London to Cardiff will be electrified.^[4]

The new Hitachi Super Express trains planned for the Great Western inter-city services will now be predominantly electric units instead of the planned diesel units. However, a proportion of the fleet will be using dual power source electro-diesel bi-mode trains, which will enable services to operate before line electrification is complete. The bi-mode trains will allow inter-city services to operate from London all the way to Carmarthen in the future. The new Super Express trains will bring about an estimated 15% increased capacity during the morning peak hours. Electrification will cut journey times between Swansea and London by an estimated 20 minutes, although electrification will not extend west of Swansea to Carmarthen or Pembroke Dock, and services on the line to Brighton, Portsmouth Harbour and Taunton will continue to be operated by diesel trains, as the Bristol to Exeter Line and the Wessex Main Line will not be electrified.^[4]

Communities served

Accidents and incidents

• On 7 March 2015, Battle of Britain-class locomotive 34067 Tangmere was hauling a charter train that overran a signal at Wooton Bassett, Wiltshire. The train's operator, West Coast Railway Company was banned from running trains on the British railway network as a direct consequence of this incident.

See also

• Transport in Wales
• Transport in England
• South Wales Railway

References

• Network Rail Passenger Timetable. London: Network Rail. 2006. 

External links

Route map: Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Wales Main Line.

• 2007 Business Plan, Network Rail, London