Reopening The Anglesey Central Railway
Note that this post was updated in October 2021.
The Anglesey Central Railway is a disused branch railway, where the track-bed is intact although overgrown, that runs across the Island of Anglesey from the North Wales Coast Line to the port town of Amlwch.
It carried freight until 1993 and is one of those remote lines, where a case can be made for reopening., using simple station designs and affordable trains.
On its route it serves the County Town of Llangefni and these stations are proposed, either on the branch or the island
With the existing stations on the North Wales Coast Line, a useful local railway could be created.
But would it be value for money?
These are a few of my thoughts.
Bangor Station
Bangor station looks like the ideal place to terminate the service from the Anglesey Central Railway.
This Google Map shows Bangor station.
Note.
- Anglesey is to the West.
- There are four tracks through the station. This will allow trains to overtake.
- Only the outside two tracks have platforms.
- The platforms are long enough to handle at least a two-hundred metre long train. They could even be long enough to handle a pair of Aventi West Coast’s new Class 805 trains, which would be 260 metres long.
- There are a couple of Anglesey-facing sidings, which probably could be converted into at least one bay platform.
- I suspect in a city like Bangor, there is probably enough electric power to provide charging facilities in an Anglesey-facing bay platform.
I can’t see any problems with terminating Anglesey Central Railway services at Bangor.
Battery-Electric Trains Between Bangor And Amlwch
Consider.
- Bangor and Amlwch would be around 25 miles.
- Modern battery-electric trains have a range of up to 80 miles.
- Battery-electric trains can fully recharge in 15 minutes.
This means that with charging facilities at Bangor, modern battery-electric trains could handle a return journey between Bangor and Amlwch.
I suspect that a very acceptable two trains per hour (tph) should be possible.
Hydrogen Trains Between Bangor And Amlwch
These would also be possible, once a refuelling strategy has been decided.
Developing The Ebbw Valley Railway
There are various developments proposed for the Ebbw Valley Railway.
A Second Hourly Service To Newport
In Proposed Additional Services in the Wikipedia entry for the line, this is said.
A second hourly service to Newport is proposed for the line. A South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) report in 2006 noted that additional infrastructure work would be required to enable the service to become half-hourly (one train running to Cardiff and another to Newport). An additional seven miles (11 km) of double track would be needed between Aberbeeg Junction and Crosskeys and additional platforms at Newbridge and Llanhilleth stations would be required.
Network Rail says additional work needs to be done, but from various news reports, the service from Ebbw Vale Town to Newport is some years away, but could be completed in 2018.
Possible Stations
In A Look At New Station Projects, I’ve found several.
- Aberbeeg has been proposed for reopening.
- Abercarn has been proposed for reopening.
- Abertillery has been proposed for reopening on a new branch.
- Cwm has been proposed for reopening.
I’m sure there could be others.
Riding In A Clean Class 319/4 Train
The Class 319/4 train is the upmarket version of the Class 319 train with First Class seats, less 2+3 seating and a fully-accessible toilet.
I took the pictures on a particularly neat and tidy Thameslink train.
It is likely that the Class 319 Flex train will use this interior, especially as the prototype is a conversion of a Class 319/4 train.
According to Wikipedia, there are still 23 Class 319/4 trains in service with Thameslink, with a few actually off lease, so there should be quite a few of this variant to convert.
In the article in Rail Magazine, which is entitled Flex… and flexibility, this is said.
One unit has moved to Loughborough (319427), but this is not one of the eight destined for Northern. Instead, it will be deployed for dimensional analysis. Only so much can be planned on paper and computers, and this will enable the various teams to evaluate the train and ensure everything fits.
Sounds like good engineering and as the train was off lease, it probably wasn’t one of best, so if it eventually becomes a spares donor or scrap, no-one is probably bothered, given that there are quite a few Class 319/4 trains available for conversion.
In fact after riding in a couple of Northern’s Class 319 trains last week, I definitely felt that the Class 319/4 train in the pictures, rode a lot better and more like what you’d expect from a train derived from a Mark 3 coach.
Conclusion
The more I read and observe about the Class 319 Flex train, the more I like the project.
I wonder how much a new bi-mode four-car multiple unit would cost? As a rough guide London Overground are paying nearly six million for each of their Class 710 trains.
Class 319/4 trains converted to Class 319 Flex trains will have the following extra and proven features.
- 100 mph as against 75 mph top speed.
- 91-92 mph top speed away from wires on diesel.
- First Class seating
- Fully-accessible toilet.
- The ability to survive a direct hit from a 24 tonne cement mixer truck dropped from a bridge.
But the Class 319 Flex is not a new train.
The Oxshott incident with the cement mixer truck, did happen to a Class 455 train, but this is also Mark 3 coach-based, like the Class 319 train.
The Anonymous Widower 