Cambrian Line

Cambrian Line

Principal stations           Shrewsbury   for Welsh Marches Line   for Heart of Wales Line   for Shrewsbury to Chester Line   for Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line   Welshpool   Newtown   Caersws   Machynlleth   Dovey Junction Penhelig Borth Aberdovey    Aberystwyth Tywyn Tonfanau Llwyngwril Fairbourne Morfa Mawddach Barmouth Llanaber Talybont Dyffryn Ardudwy Llanbedr Pensarn Llandanwg Harlech Tygwyn Talsarnau Llandecwyn Penrhyndeudraeth Minffordd Porthmadog Criccieth Penychain Abererch 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.

Route

The line diverges at Dyfi 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
  • Connection with the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton line, Shrewsbury-Chester line and Welsh Marches Line.
• Welshpool
  • Connection with Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
• Newtown
• Caersws
• Machynlleth
  • Cambrian Coast Line diverges to Pwllheli (see below)
• Dyfi Junction
• Borth
• Aberystwyth
  • Connection with Vale of Rheidol Railway

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 lines from Welshpool to Aberystwyth and from Dyfi 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.

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 [2].

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

Cambrian Line Performance

Period Ending	Punctuality
10 December 2005	76.6%
7 January 2006	85.9%
4 February 2006	86.4%
5 March 2006	84.1%
31 March 2006	82.6%
29 April 2006	80.8%
27 May 2006	85.7%
24 June 2006	79.5%
22 July 2006	82.8%
19 August 2006	79.6%
16 September 2006	86.2%
14 October 2006	86.7%
11 November 2006	84.2%
9 December 2006	81.8%

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 "safety gap" between trains using the same track to be reduced, meaning services will be more frequent. Should the pilot scheme be successful, the system is expected to be rolled out across Britain's busiest routes (notably the East Coast Main Line).

The upgrade is expected to cost £59 million and be completed by December 2008.

External links

• The Cambrian Line
• Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers' Association

See also

• Railways of Shropshire
• Heart of Wales Line

Railway lines in Wales:
Main lines:	Gloucester-Newport Line   North Wales Coast Line   Shrewsbury-Chester Line   South Wales Main Line   Welsh Marches Line
Valley lines:		Butetown Branch		City Line		Coryton Line		Ebbw Valley Line		Maesteg Line
		Merthyr Line		Rhondda Line		Rhymney Line		Vale of Glamorgan Line
Rural lines:	Borderlands Line   Cambrian Line   Conwy Valley Line   Heart of Wales Line   West Wales Line