Gloucester to Newport Line

Gloucester to Newport Line
Overview
Type Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System National Rail
Status Operational
Locale South East Wales, Severn Estuary, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire
Termini Gloucester
Newport
Stations 6 (14 disused)
Operation
Owner Network Rail
Operator(s) Arriva Trains Wales
CrossCountry
First Great Western
Rolling stock Class 43 HST
Class 57
Class 67
Class 142 "Pacer"
Class 143 "Pacer"
Class 150 "Sprinter"
Class 158 "Express Sprinter"
Class 170 "Turbostar"
Class 175 "Coradia"
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification No
Gloucester to Newport Line
Legend
Cross Country Route
Gloucester
River Severn
Ledbury and Gloucester Railway
Oakle Street
Grange Court
Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Rly
Westbury-on-Severn Halt
Newnham
Ruddle Road Halt
Severn and Wye Railway
Awre for Blakeney
Forest of Dean Central Railway
Gatcombe
Severn Railway Bridge
Severn Bridge
Sharpness Branch Line
Lydney JunctionLydney
Lydney Harbour Branch
Dean Forest Railway
Woolaston
Wye Valley Railway
Tutshill for Beachley Halt
Chepstow East
Chepstow Railway Bridge
over River Wye
England
Wales
Chepstow
M48 motorway
across Severn Bridge
Bristol & South Wales Union Rly
Portskewett (1850–1863)
("Portskewett Junction" 1863–1886)
Portskewett (1863–1964)
South Wales Main Line
via Severn Tunnel
Sudbrook Tunnel Pumps
Caerwent Training Area
Caldicot
Severn Tunnel Junction
M4 motorway
Undy Halt
Magor
Llanwern steelworks
Llanwern
Uskmouth Power Station
Welsh Marches Line
River Usk
Monmouthshire Railway
Newport
South Wales Main Line

The Gloucester to Newport Line is a railway line that runs along the bank of the River Severn in the United Kingdom between Gloucester and Newport.

Originally part of the South Wales Railway on the main route from London before the construction of the Severn Tunnel; today it is an important link between the West Midlands and South Wales.

Route

The places served by the route are:

Local passenger services are currently provided by Arriva Trains Wales, with an approximately hourly service in each direction on the Cheltenham Spa to Maesteg service. These are supplemented by CrossCountry services between Cardiff Central and Nottingham, which serve Gloucester and Newport, serving either Lydney or Chepstow then fast to Newport for example. The intermediate stations are omitted except during the early morning and late evening.

Though Caldicot and Severn Tunnel Junction stations are only 34 mile (1.2 km) apart, Caldicot's centrality kept it open in 1964 when other small stations were closed under The Reshaping of British Railways. Severn Tunnel Junction serves the village of Rogiet and is where this line merges with the South Wales Main Line through the Severn Tunnel, so it is also a stop on the Cardiff Central-Bristol Temple Meads-Portsmouth Harbour service.

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000.[1] Options included electrifying numerous former Great Western routes including the Gloucester to Newport line.[2] Under the 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government the proposal was not implemented.

Accidents and incidents

References

Sources

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.