The SW(a)ML is a key route, connecting South Wales with England, as well as London. Route information: Length (Swansea - Bristol Parkway/TM) - 79 miles/127 km; Length (Swansea - Newport) - 57 mi/92 km; Stations (SWA - BPK/BRI) - 21 Stations (SWA - NWP) - 13 Opened - 1850 Electrification ends at Cardiff Central Trains and operators: Class 170, Class 253 (2+7 HST sets), Class 220/221 CrossCountry Class 800/801/802, Class 158, Class 165/166, Class 255 (Castle Class HST sets), Class 387 (on occasion) Great Western Railway Class 150, Class 153, Class 158, Class 175, Class 197 (not in service yet), Class 67/Mk4/DVT (Premier set), Class 170(/2), Class 769 Transport for Wales Class 60, Class 66 Freight As can be seen, there is a lot of DLC potential for this route! Landmarks: Swansea Montpellier Depot - IET depot Landore TMD Landore Viaduct Port Talbot Steelworks Margam Knuckle Yard Cardiff Canton TMD Cardiff Central - power changeover from diesel to OHLE heading east The Severn Tunnel - crosses the English border, 4.3 miles/7 kilometres long Stoke Gifford Depot - IET depot Bristol Temple Meads Several river crossings, including 4 from the River Ely Base route features: Class 80X, possibly layered from another route - this is the key GWR train along this line Class 175, new - this is the main TfW train along the line Cardiff Canton TMD, with a few wagons and empty trains Margam Knuckle Yard, operated by DB Schenker - the main yard for the line, and serves the steelworks Both would be fully explorable Summary/key points 83 miles of fast running between Bristol and Swansea Power changeover at Cardiff Central from electric to diesel Several depots and yards, allowing for a varied experience Lots of trains, and DLC potential Several service types, from empty stock to stopper and high speed Welsh signage and (technically) a cross border route Could be set 2022 or earlier, as the route is quite busy regardless ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes, this was essentially an essay, but hopefully a detailed description increases the chances of this happening. Overall, it's quite a varied route with a lot of landmarks and services. If this is something you would like to see, give it a like (or whatever you do for that). If there is something you think should be included with this, comment it. Hopefully you would like to see it, and DTG might see it and consider it. Thanks for reading, if you got this far!
From railmiles the distances are: Swansea - Newport : 57miles 36chains Swansea - Bristol Parkway : 79miles 10chains
