Cambrian Line

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.

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 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/6745409.stm]
*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
*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.

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.

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. [http://www.sarpa.info/] 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.

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. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =ERTMS National implementation plan
work =
publisher =Department for Transport
date =September 2007
url =http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/Interopandstandards/europeanstandardisation/ertms
format =.pdf
doi =
accessdate =2008-04-15 ] .

The upgrade is expected to cost £59 million and be completed by December 2008. [Webster, Ben (2006-10-17) "Digital sensors will reduce gap between trains during rush hour". "The Times", p. 23.]

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.

Future

From December 2008, most trains will be extended to Birmingham International, and most trains will make an additional call at Smethick Galton Bridge. [cite web | url = http://www.saveseverntunnel.co.uk/timetable-08/Arriva%20Dec%2008%20-%20May%202009%20Draft%20Timetable%20Major%20Changes%20Poster%20-%20Dec%202008_3.pdf | title = Proposed timetable 2008 | accessdate = 2008-07-08 | author = Arriva Trains Wales | publisher = [http://www.saveseverntunnel.co.uk Severn Tunnel Action Group] ]

External links

* [http://www.thecambrianline.co.uk/ Cambrian Lines Partnership]
* [http://www.aberystwyth.org.uk/attractions/cambrian_line.shtml Coambrian Coast Railway Visitor Guide]
* [http://www.sarpa.info/ Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers' Association]
* [http://sarpa.info/articles.html#newsletter1 Usage statistics for stations on the line]

See also

*Railways of Shropshire
*Heart of Wales Line

Footnotes