Prynhawn da! Good afternoon everyone! Today I'm moving to my beloved Wales, wanting to propose you an interesting mix between two of the most important lines in this country: the Welsh Marches and the South Wales Main Line; specifically the following layout: Hereford-Newport (Marches)+Newport-Cardiff Central (Mainline). It would be set in late-2022/early-2023. This idea came to me while I was thinking about the future Cardiff City Network: it would be nice to give continuity and layers to that, flanking it with a real mainline! And so, this proposal of mine was born. We're in South-East of Wales, between Cardiff and Newport. The Main line runs between the capital and the East (to England), passing the nearby city and reaching the Maindee Junction. Here, the route diverges from the main path, entering the Welsh Marches (heading North). Then it crosses the Wales/England border, finally reaching Hereford. Our final destination. A rather fast and smooth journey, which completes the Cardiff City Network experience, including the famous TfW mainline and other operators services. Plus tons of direct and local freight! This is my Welsh Marches Line: Newport to Hereford+Cardiff! GENERAL FEATURES The route in question is made up of two distinct, combined sections: a) South Wales Main Line, Cardiff Central to Newport (section of): - 11.6mi (19km) total mainline lenght, except for Canton TMD and East Usk Jn. Yard links. - 4 tracks served, standard gauge (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), electrifed 25kV AC OHLE. Except for Cardiff Central common area (5-6 tracks). - 60-95 mph (96-153 km/h) max permitted speed, with some drops to 40mph. b) Welsh Marches Line, Newport to Hereford (section of): - 43.5mi (70km) total lenght, including the Newport-Maindee Jn. Section (on mainline). - Double track served, standard gauge, unelectrfied (except for Newport-Maindee Jn. stretch). Except for the above-mentioned section and Hereford common Area (3-4 tracks). - 60-90mph (96-145km/h) max permitted speed, with some drops to 40-50mph. Total route lenght: 55mi (88.5km). Lines are managed by: - Network Rail. Passenger service is operated by: - Transport for Wales Rail Ltd. - First Greater Western Ltd (GWR). - CrossCountry (XC Trains Ltd). - West Midlands Trains Ltd. Freight service is operated by: - DB Cargo UK Ltd. - Freightliner Group Ltd. - GB Railfreight Ltd (GBRf). - Colas Rail Ltd. - Direct Rail Services (DRS). THE ROUTE General view of the route. All stations and main places are marked. Below I added a close-up of the mainline stretch! STATIONS The route has a total of 6 active stations. 2x are located on the South Wales Main Line. The calls are, as follows: - Ninian Park/Parc Ninian - Cardiff Central/Caerdydd Canolog - Newport/Casnewydd - Cwmbran - Pontypool & New Inn/Pont-y-Pŵl a'r Dafarn Newydd - Abergavenny/Y Fenni Wales/England border. - Hereford Reference depots are: - Canton TMD (TfW). - Tidal Shed (GBRf). STATIONS PICS Cardiff Central Station. As its facade suggests, it was originally built by GWR. Newport Station. As it appears after the 2010/11 refit. Left: Cwmbran, as it appeared before the new footbridge was installed (2024). Right: Pontypool & New Inn, with the new footbridge and new furnishings (2023). Abergavenny Station. As it appears before renovation work. Please put your LIKE here first, thank you! Continue Below...
Page 2 Hereford Station. Notice how the architecture suggests an English setting. PASSENGER SERVICE TfW Welsh Marches A) Manchester Piccadilly-Cardiff Central/Carmarthen/Milford Haven [stopper/premier]: - 1 Tph to Manchester (entire route). - 1 Tph to Cardiff central (some stoppers to Carmarthen/Milford haven)(entire route). B) Holyhead-Cardiff Central [stopper/premier]: - 1Tp2h to Holyhead (entire route). - 1Tp2h to Cardiff Central (entire route). South Wales A) Cheltenham Spa-Cardiff Central/Maesteg [stopper]: - 1Tph to Cheltenham Spa (Cardiff Central-Newport, then AI Only). - 1Tph to Cardiff Central (some to Maesteg)(Newport-Cardiff Central). B) Ebbw Vale Town-Cardiff Central or Newport [stopper]: - 2Tph to Ebbw Vale Town (Cardiff Central/Newport-Ebbw Jn.). - 1Tph to Cardiff Central (Ebbw Jn.-Cardiff Central). - 1Tph to Newport (Ebbw Jn.-Newport, AI Only). Plus all local Valleys & City Lines services (included with Cardiff City Network). GWR South Wales A) CL - London Paddington-Cardiff Central/Swansea/Carmarthen [intercity]: - 1Tph/1Tp2h to Swansea (Newport-Cardiff Central). - 1Tph to Cardiff Central (Newport-Cardiff Central). - 7Tpd to Carmarthen (replacing Swansea of that hour)(Newport-Cardiff Central). - 2Tph to London Paddington (Cardiff Central-Newport, then AI Only). B) B1 - Portsmouth Harbour/Salisbury-Cardiff Central [semi-fast]: - 1Tph to Cardiff Central (Newport-Cardiff Central). - 1Tph to Portsmouth Harbour (some to Salisbury)(Cardiff Central-Newport, then AI Only). C) B4 - Penzance/Taunton-Cardiff Central [semi-fast]: - 1Tph to Cardiff Central (Newport-Cardiff Central). - 1Tp2h to Penzance (alternating with Taunton)(Cardiff Central-Newport, then AI Only). - 1Tp2h to Taunton (alternating with Penzance)(Cardiff Central-Newport, then AI Only). Plus other XC (Newport-Cardiff Central) and GWR/WMR (AI Only at Hereford) services. Some concrete railtour opportunities, carried out by Pathfinder Railtours Ltd and Locomotive Services Ltd. FREIGHT SERVICE There is an excellent variety and quantity of freight services on this route. The following sectors are involved: - Metals (steel products and scraps). - Aggregates (gravel and limestone). - Intermodal (containers and Tesco trains). - Timbers (from North). - Petroleum (crude oil and fuels). - Coal (local industries supplies). - MoD (ammo/explosives trains). RHTT services are also available on both routes: - Swindon transfer to Cheltenham Lanslow Loop (Welsh Marches), with 4 services/day. - Margam T.C. to Stormy (mainline, only certain periods), with 2 services/day. ROLLING STOCK The following rolling stock could be seen on this route: PASSENGER - TfW BR Class 67 Diesel-electric mainline loco+BR Mk4 FO,SO,RSB coaches+Mk4 DVT cabcar. - TfW BR Class 175/0 and 175/1 Coradia 1000 DHMU. FREIGHT - BR Class 66 DB Cargo UK/EWS, Freightliner (Green-yellow/Powerhaul), GBRf and DRS Diesel-electric mainline loco (Welsh Marches and mainline). - IHA-F (steel coils) and IWA 90T (timber) Freight wagons. ROUTE PICS Left: general view of Cardiff, largest city in Wales. Right: general view of Hereford, on English territory. Continue Below...
Page 3 Left: Canton TMD (Cardiff), largest route depot, operated by TfW. Right: East Moors Steelworks (Cardiff). Note the side-by Tidal Yard and its shed (shunting engines). Left: Newport Town & Usk Railway Bridges (Newport), important crossing over the River Usk. Note (middle of) the Newport Castle remains. Right: Newport Transporter Bridge, it dominates the city's docks with its 774ft (236m)! Left. Principality Stadium (Millennium Complex), the city's famous rugby ground, literally opposite Cardiff Central station. Note (in the background) the Cardiff Castle. Right: St Cadoc's Asylum. Impressive and disturbing mental hospital in Caerleon (Newport). Some scenes from the TV series "Doctor Who" were filmed in here! Left: The famous Cardiff Central Water Tower, symbol of the station. Right: Llantarnam Abbey (near Cwmbran). One of the many, small landmarks present in the Welsh Marches countryside. Left: Sugar Loaf (Mynydd Pen-y-Fal), distinctive peak of the Black Mountains. The southernmost point of the range. Down below, Abergavenny, with our line. Right: A beautiful random Welsh Marches landscape, near English border. The Sugar Loaf always in the background. I also remember the presence of the Cardiff City Stadium (near Canton TMD), Cardiff International Arena (junction to Queen Street), the imposing Uskmouth Powerplant Chimney (Newport Docks) and the small Glebelands Miniature Railway (on the River Usk). ROUTE VIDEOS Welsh Marches cabview (commented): Shrewsbury to Cardiff Central (consider it only from Hereford). Premier trainset (67+Mk4s) (Oct. 2022). Crewe-Bristol Temple Meads Railtour cabview (Hereford-Maindee Jn.). Locomotive Services Ltd BR Class 47 "Duff" (unfortunately no audio at many points ). A bit of trainspotting in Cardiff Central (2022). A bit of Trainspotting in Newport (Mar. 2023). Scenic trainspotting north of Newport (Jun. 2023). All RIGHTS and CREDITS to the original authors. Caravatt PS. Integrations and corrections are always welcome! Don't hesitate! Since I live a few thousand km from this route, there may be some small errors!
This would be amazing. Especially as it would utilise the stock that will come with the Cardiff City Network. Hopefully this does release as it would be a great run for the MK4 stock and even the 175.
That's for sure! 150 can also be driven on this route (153s were mainly used on the Heart of Wales). Not to mention the Mk4s... There could be a serius way to introduce an Intercity 225 on ECML! Just add the 91 and the SOE coach (without one gangway). Not to mention all the GWR layers we already have or we're about to get!
Would express a preference for the 231s out of those 2. Prefer ‘full view’ cabs rather than ‘letterbox’ ones which restrict the view
Great suggestion. Would be great to have this then another follow on route being Hereford to Crewe. Crewe to Cardiff route hopping would be superb.
Impressive and if they have technology to do it might as well do the entire Welsh Marshes line to crewe. The latter part can be steam operated 1958 that way we can just route hop onto west coast main line Liverpool to crewe
Sure, but given steam "ban" (I think it'll only be temporary, there's too many users interested in that!), I'd prefer something set in current days (TfW). The stretch towards Crewe has 6 intermediate stops, perfect for 158s and their local stopper service! This southern section isn't bad at all either... Full of services, especially on the coast !
I'm going to boost this suggestion as it seems very interesting and definitely very doable with the length of it being only 60 miles, it provides many services and also builds up for a South Wales Mainline to come in the future. Class 67 + MK4 + DVT would be fantastic to drive if they get it right and again can be used on a variety of other Welsh routes, same with the Class 175. Definitely a very good suggestion and a mix of some city and countryside with regional and express services!
Yes, this is the right section to allow Premier sets to stretch their legs a bit. There are few, well-spaced stops here, allowing you to build up and maintain speed! Also chose this section to keep the route on Welsh territory mainly (it's called "Welsh Marches" for a reason, right?)! Glad you like it
