Directly connecting England and Wales, running under the longest river in the United Kingdom, the South Wales Main Line is one of the most important cross-border routes in the country, and over 80 miles of it can be explored in South Wales Coastal! Bristol and Swansea have been connected by rail since 1850, however it would not be until the 1880s that the revolutionary Severn Tunnel was constructed, shortening the link between England and Wales by over 30 miles. For over a century, the Severn Tunnel was the longest in Britain, and is still used by dozens of trains daily connecting the two countries. Services originating from the West Country and London combine to make the South Wales Main Line a continuously busy line, with passengers bound for destinations such as Newport, Cardiff and Swansea, and freight heading for Wentloog container terminal or Port Talbot Steelworks. The route, set in 2022, represents the modern day western mainline, with overhead lines running from Bristol Parkway - Cardiff central. TRAINS INVOLVED: Class 800/802 GWR Class 166 Class 43 “Castle Set” Class 769 Transport for Wales
CONTINUATION: Key Locations : Bristol Temple Meads is a station located in the heart of bristol and the original terminal for trains from london. This is the first station on the route BRISTOL PARKWAY Severn Tunnel: Newport: Cardiff Central:
This is a cracking suggestion mate, Thanks for taking mine and TrainGeeks feedback on board. I'd personally rather a more diesel era SWCL like in 2016 like the TSC one but thats just personal preference - It'd be a great route either way though - I hope we do get both the welsh coast main lines (north and south) for tsw3 at some point.
Yep, agreed, see this is better isn't it for a suggestion, mainly I advised how to layout a basic suggestion and I'm glad to have seen it worked Well done ehinlanwoemmanuel, like I say above the detail is better than the previous one you made
Probably not going to get the entire route mileage from Bristol to Swansea, but Newport to Swansea (start Llanwern) could be do-able. My only caveat would be to set it back a few years, late 90's/early 2000's when there was still plenty of freight traffic, including the iron ore flows from Margam/Port Talbot to Llanwern. Yes, for once I'm not suggesting BR Classic Blue - but having lived in Bridgend from 1997 to 2006 and working in the SW&W/ATW Control in Cardiff, it was quite an interesting period for rail traffic.
Did you used to work on this line, would be nice to hear what traction was on the line if you worked on the line
Would love to see this. One minor point, the Class 769's only work the Cardiff Valley lines so would only be seen at Cardiff Central. I also understand that they are to be disposed of at the first opportunity.
Id change the Class 769 for a 175, as they run alot of the regionals on this route. If we do get a 170 DLC for BCC, that could also layer on too, for the Maesteg-Cheltenham Spa services too
