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.
Worcestershire Parkway Station Under Way
This article in the Worcester News is entitled PICTURES: Lift off! Clearance work underway for Worcestershire Parkway.
Enough said! Especially as the pictures are informative!
But with similar signs of a new station at Meridian Water, it seems to be good news for those who want new stations.
The South Wales Mountain Railway
South Wales might not have the reputation of beautiful mountains, of say Snowdonian, the Cairngorms or Switzerland, but some of the Valley Lines that go up to places like Merthyr Tydfil and Ebbw Vale Town stations have spectacular views.
I was looking for a possible station at a village called Nelson and found a single-track railway passing to the North of the village.
I followed the track with my helicopter up the mountain and this is a Google Map of what I found.
Merthyr Tydfil And The Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme
The station on the left is Merthyr Tydfil and on the right is the massive Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme. This is opening paragraph in the Wikipedia entry.
The Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme is a major opencast coaling operation to the north-east of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Miller Argent is owned by Gwent Investments Limited, which is based in South Wales and is a privately owned family business. The scheme development is the last part of the East Merthyr Reclamation scheme, and will extract 10 million tonnes of coal over 15 years, the revenues from which will redevelop the current former industrial workings into residential and recreational use.
It is a controversial scheme and I am usually against using coal for combustion purposes, but some of these Welsh landscapes are dotted with dangerous mine workings and slag heaps, so they certainly need cleaning up.
There is a Transport section in the Wikipedia entry for the scheme. This is said.
Under agreed planning rules, the site is not allowed to transport coal from the site via road. All extract is therefore moved to the rear (East) of the site where the coal is separated and washed at the Cwmbargoed Washery. Built in 1959 on land to the north and east of the railway connection to Fochriw Colliery, the coal washery was refurbished by Celtic Energy in 1992. DB Schenker trains then move the washed coal from site to Aberthaw Power Station, along the former route of the Rhymney Railway. Joining the modern Rhymney Line just south of Ystrad Mynach railway station, the trains then travel onwards via Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Line to Aberthaw, enabling Ffos-y-fran to supply 40% of the coal to Aberthaw power station.
It must be challenging driving a Class 66 locomotive with a train of full coal wagons down the mountain.
It was this railway I had followed up the mountain.
Before I leave Merthyr Tydfil, look at this Google Map of the town.
Merthyr Tydfil And Rhymney
The East Merthyr Reclamation Scheme is in the middle, flanked by Merthyr Tydfil in the West and Rhymney in the East.
So if the Authorities in South Wales are thinking of building a station on this line at Nelson, are they thinking of reopening this line after the scheme has finished extracting coal, as a second rail route to Merthyr Tydfil?
Coming back down the mountain from Merthyr, the first possible station from my list of possible stations is Bedlinog.
This Google Map shows the rail line going through the village.
Bedlinog And The Railway
Note that Bedlinog already has a Railway Inn.
After Bedlinog, the next one on the list is Trelewis. This is the Google Map
Trelewis And The Railway
The railway goes between the Primary School and the Kigdom Hall.
And then it’s back to where I started this quest at Nelson, of which this is the Google Map.
Nelson And The Railway
The railway then goes South-East to join the Rymney Line at Ystrad Mynach station.
Trains For The Route
The task of hauling empty wagons up the mountain is not to much for a Class 66 locomotive, so I suspect that a multiple unit could be designed to handle a route like this, of which there are several in the Cardiff Valley Lines.
Either electric or diesel multiple units could probably manage the climbs, if they were designed for it, but would electreifying these routes be a feasible undertaking, given the difficulties of working on these busy lines.
But train technology is moving on and with the Class 319 Flex, we are getting close to having a true tri-mode train, with diesel, electric and battery power.
The Welsh Government have said they want new trains for these routes and I suspect engineers are working on a product tailored to run these routes efficiently.
So could we see a quad-mode train for the Valleys?
- Four-car electrical multiple unit.
- Onboard energy storage.
- Perhaps even a small diesel generator for the difficult bits.
- Gravity power, which the lines have in abundance, to use with regenerative braking to charge the batteries on the descent.
- As modern trains can deploy pantographs automatically, some selective electrification could be added as the project develops.
I would also commit the ultimate heresy and use third-rail electrification on the steep parts at the heads of the valleys.
Consider.
- Bombardier, Siemens and others make reliable dual-voltage trains.
- Both electrification systems have their good and bad points.
- It must be less intrusive and disruptive to install third-rail electrification.
- Is overhead electrification more prone to weather damage?
- Network Rail seem to be terribly accident-prone when it comes to overhead electrification.
In the end costs and overall reliability will decide.
But I do think sometimes, that Network Rail always chooses overhead electrification, even if third rail will be more reliable, less intrusive and more affordable.
But I’m sure that all the technology has now been proven to create a very efficient modern electric train to work the Valley Lines, which have been electrified using a great deal of innovation and common sense.
Two Stations For Guildford
Guildford station is one of those stations that is very crowded.
So the Borough of Guildford is promoting two stations, one in the East and one in the West.
Merrow Station
A station at Merrow is proposed in the East on the New Guildford Line between London Road and Clandon stations.
This Google Map shows the location.
The station is proposed to be on the site of Merrow Depot, which is in the South-East corner of the map, with the railway line conveniently across the North of the site.
Guildford West Station
A station in the West of Guildford is proposed on the Ascot-Guildford Line between Guildford and Wanbotough stations, close to the Royal Surrey Coumty Hospital.
This Google Map shows the location.
It is certainly a very convenient station for the hospital and the technology park.
There must be scope given that the railway is in a wide cutting, to do some development over the station and the railway.
A Plea For A Shropshire Metro
Shrewsbury station is not one of the best stations, as I remarked in Passing Through Shrewsbury Station.
Clean toilets and a Starbucks doth not a station make!
I was drawn to this letter in the Shropshire Star, which was entitled Better rail investment would reduce problems on the roads.
The writer details some of the problems on the five rail lines that meet at Shrewsbury, which they start with this paragraph about the lack of parkway stations.
Shropshire, in particular, could benefit enormously from reopening old stations in the form of parkways or even parkways near to where stations used to be. Thus the five lines running into Shrewsbury are badly serving the public except the one from Crewe which does still have small stations, utilised occasionally but could be improved by upgrading to parkways and additions.
The writer also says that Hereford is just as bad.
This map shows the lines meeting at Shresbury.
The lines meeting at Shrewsbury station are as follows.
- Shrewsbury to Chester Line with 4 open and 14 closed stations before Chester.
- Welsh Marches Line to Crewe, with 6 open and 4 closed stations before Crewe.
- Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, with 8 open and 5 closed stations before Wolverhampton
- Cambrian Line, with no open and 6 closed stations before Welshpool.
- Welsh Marches Line to Hereford, with 4 open and 15 closed stations before Hereford.
There certainly were a lot more stations in the past.
But it does appear that some new stations are in the pipeline.
Adnaston
Admaston is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line.
Baschurch
Baschurch is a possible reopened station on the Chester to Shrewsbury Line.
Cefn
Cefn is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line.
Hadnall is a possible reopened station on the Welsh Marches Line.
Johnstown
Johnstown is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line.
Meole Brace
Meole Brace is a possible new station in Shrewsbury.
Conclusion
It looks like the letter writer’s plea has been answered.
Putting four trains per hour on all of the routes from the centre at Shrewsbury would probably create a more than acceptable system.
It looks like the trains would have to be diesels, as I can’t see much electrification in this area.
But who knows what will happen, if someone develops a fast charge system for a hybrid/battery train, that could be implemented at Chester, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton?
The No Frills Station
I’m always putting in the same picture of Zwickau Zentrum station on the Vogtlandbahn in Germany into posts, so I thought I should give the picture a post of its own.
The station is one of the simplest I’ve ever seen and it has been designed very much like a tram stop.
- There is no footbridge, as if travellers need to cross the line, they just walk round.
- The access is as step-free as it gets in Germany.
- The other side of the platform is a stop for Zwickau’s trams.
- There is no electrification, which must improve safety.
- The station could be made long enough for any train that might call.
- The station has been landscaped into the local environment.
But we’re starting to see simple stations like this in the UK.
These pictures show Galashiels station on the recently opening Borders Railway.
Galashiels is an interesting solution, as there is a single-platform step-free railway station on one side of the road and a comprehensive bus interchange on the other with seats, cafes, shops and warm shelter.
Both Zwickau Zentrum and Galashiels are served exclusively by diesel trains and as electrification can be a hazard to some passengers and is expensive, I would feel that most stations like this, would be better served by trains that are self-powered.
We shall be seeing more simple station designs like these, as architects and designers get very innovative.
A Station For Marlborough
Marlborough once had a pair of stations, as this map of the railways in the town shows.
Note the various stations in an area, where Marlborough the largest town has a population of 8,395.
This railway map shows the important Reading to Taunton Line that passes to the South of Marlborough. This Google Map shows that line as it crosses the A346 road.
The Reading to Raunton Line South Of Marlborough
Note.
- The Reading to Taunton Line crossing the map in an East-West direction, generally following the Kennett and Avon Canal.
- Marlborough is to the North
- Pewsey station is to the West.
- Bedwyn station is to the East.
- Savenake Low Level station used to be somewhere to the South of what look like yellow field of Rape.
- The small town of Biurbage is to the South.
There would also appear to be tracks of disused railways leading North-Westerly from Bedwyn towards Marlborough.
If Marlborough and the surrounding area were to be given a better rail connection, I would think that a possible solution would be a parkway station, perhaps where the A346 crosses the railway and the canal.
It should be born in mind, that modern trains are designed to perform fast stops at stations, so the extra station at Marlborough would not be the time penalty, it was a few years ago.
Transition Marlborough’s Proposal
But a local action group called Transition Marlborough have their own plans for a Marlborough Rail Link, which as this graphic shows are more ambitious.
Their plans would involve restoring and electrifying the line to Marlborough, where a well-positioned station will be built.
These are my initial thoughts.
- The route of the line appears feasible.
- Electrification may be a problem given Network Rail’s expertise in this area.
- Bedwyn would not appear to be the best terminus for a line to London.
- I’ve not been to Bedwyn station, but I suspect it could be a bleak place in some kinds of weather.
After I wrote this list, a kind soul in the area sent me this message.
You’ll find that Bedwyn station is a pretty bleak place, especially in Winter. To reach it by road from Marlborough involves a 7.5 mile road trip, at least 3 miles of which is on an unmarked road through a forest. Bedwyn station is almost inaccessible for people without cars, as the connecting bus service is poor and unreliable.
My Version Of The Proposal
I think the best solution could be to create a single-track railway without electrification to a simple station with adequate parking at the proposed Salisbury Road Business Park location.
I would put the station in the car park of the Tesco supermarket in this Business Park.
The distance between Reading and Marlborough by train would be about 37 miles. Network Rail’s plans to electrify the line between Reading and Bedwyn are probably best described as fluid, but I suspect that electrification to Newbury could be possible, which would mean that only twenty miles between Paddington and Marlborough would be unwired.
So this would mean that when inevitably an electric train with onboard energy storage has a range of forty miles, Marlborough could get a modern electric service to and from Paddington.
The advantages of this strategy are as follows.
- No ugly overhead catenary marching across the country.
- Work would only include restoring a single track railway and building a simple no-frills station at Marlborough.
- Marlborough station would not have any electrification and could be designed like a tram stop.
- Fast Environmentally-friendly electric trains to and from Reading and Paddington.
- The route would be designed for six-car trains in case Marlborough College put on a free concert featuring the Rolling Stones.
- The route could be designed to allow two trains per hour (tph), as opposed to the current one tph service to and from Bedwyn.
- Marlborough to Paddington would have a maximum time of around 80 minutes.
But the biggest advantage is that the scheme is that it could be affordable.
This article on the BBC is entitled Marlborough £30m railway line restoration plan.
If this branch line is developed as I believe Network Rail are now thinking, there could be money left over for a good launch party!
Conclusion
With the next generation of electric train with onboard energy storage or IPEMUs, a Marlborough station on a new Marlborough Branch Line can be used to create a two tph service to and from Paddington to replace the current one tph service from Bedwyn.
So a new Marlborough station would be a win for all those using stations on the Reading to Taunton Line to the East of Pewsey.
I also wonder how many other similar services can be developed by extending a service past a main line terminal to a new or reopened branch line, which is built without electrification and run using trains with onboard energy storage.
Reopening Newcastle To Ashington
In No-Frills Mini Trains Offer Route To Reopening Lines That Beeching Shut, one of the lines mentioned in the original Times article that might be suitable for reopening is the Blyth and Tyne Line between Newcastle station and a new Ashington station in the North East.
- More details of this route are given on the South East Northumberland Rail User Group web site.
This map is taken from their web site.
The East Coast Main Line is shown in red, with the proposed reopened line in orange.
Reopening the line would be a lot simpler than many others.
- Most if not all of the track is intact and used by freight trains.
- Some of the route is only single-track.
- Stations would need to be rebuilt or built from scratch.
- To work the desired frequency of two tph would probably need two units.
- Digital signalling would be needed, as there are freight trains on the same lines.
As there are electrified lines in the area, it might be an ideal line for a pair of Class 319 Flex trains, which could run on diesel, where there was no electrification.
Judging by the map, the service could call at the following stations coming North from Newcastle
- Manors
- Seghill
- Seaton Delaval
- Newsham for Blyth
- Bebside
- Bedlington
- Ashington
- Cambois
- Woodhorn
- Choppington
There would be two terminals at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Morpeth.
I also think that there is scope for more routes and stations.
Conclusion
It all looks very feasible.
A Station For Maltby And Other Villages
Maltby in South Yorkshire is a village of around 17,000 people, with transport links, based on buses and private cars.
This Google Map shows the village, which shares a mini-connurbation with Hellaby and Bramley, as you go West.
Bramley, Hellaby And Maltby
Note the massive Maltby Main Colliery, which thankfully closed in 2013. Curving round this scar on the face of Yorkshire is a railway, which starts in the North East corner and disappears South-Westerly out of the bottom of the map.
This railway is the South Yorkshire Joint Railway, which is described in this page in Grace’s Guide.
The line ran from Kirk Sandall Junction on the Great Central’s Doncaster-Cleethorpes line to a junction with the Great Central and Midland Joint Railway, just south of Dinnington. The N.E.R. had access over the G.C.R. from Hull, the M.R. had access from the Nottingham-Worksop line, over G.C.R. metals from Shireoaks, the L&Y joined at St. Catherine’s Junction from their Dearne Valley Railway and the G.N.R. had connections to the south of Doncaster. As opened the S.Y.J.R. was 21.25 miles (34km) in length, including its colliery branch lines and connections to the several lines it crossed in its path. It opened to freight on 1 January 1909, and to passengers on 1 December 1910.
Wikipedia says this about services on the line.
Passenger trains on the line ended in 1929; freight work continued on the line, with eight collieries served at peak. Most of the collieries closed by the 1990s; as of 2011, the line remains an important freight line for coal transportation both north and southwards to the Trent and Aire Valley power stations.
So now that coal is virtually in the dustbin of history, except in Trummkopf’s mind, perhaps it is time to do something positive with this railway.
The route between Doncaster and the Sheffield-Lincoln Line would appear to have the following characteristics.
- It is single-track and looks intact.
- There is no trace of any station.
- The line passes through several large villages including Anston and Dinnington.
- The line passes through the town of Doncaster and even goes close to the racecourse.
- The Northern end joins the South Humberside Main Line just to the West of Hatfield and Stainforth station.
- The Southern end joins the Sheffield-Lincoln Line at a partially-closed triangular junction between Kiveton Park and Shireoaks stations.
But the biggest factor in developing the line is that the South Yorkshire Joint Railway goes straight through the site of the proposed Doncaster Inland Port or Doncaster iPort. This is Wikipedia’s introduction for the iPort.
Doncaster iPort or Doncaster Inland Port is an intermodal rail terminal; a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange,[note 1] under construction west of Rossington and south of Doncaster at junction 3 of the M18 motorway in England. It is to be connected to the rail network via the line of the former South Yorkshire Joint Railway, and from an extension of the former Rossington Colliery branch from the East Coast Main Line.
The development includes a 171 hectares (420 acres) intermodal rail terminal to be built on green belt land, of which over 50 hectares (120 acres) was to be developed into warehousing, making it the largest rail terminal in Yorkshire; the development also included over 150 hectares (370 acres) of countryside, the majority of which was to remain in agricultural use, with other parts used for landscaping, and habitat creation as part of environment mitigation measures.
This Google Map shows the location of the Doncaster iPort.
Note.
- Junction 3 of the M18 in the North-West corner of the map.
- The South Yorkshire Joint Railway crossing the site from North to South.
- The under-construction A6182 or Great Yorkshire Way, which is described in this news article on the BBC, with a headline of New £56m Robin Hood Airport to M18 link road opens.
- The scar of Rossington colliery, to the North of the village of Rossington.
- The East Coast Main Line to the East of the village.
The only thing that missing is a way to get large container ships to the iPort. Air freight will be sorted, as I wrote in A Station At Doncaster Sheffield Airport, with a choice of road or rail links between the iPort and Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Some questions come to mind.
- Will the Rossington Colliery Branch, when extended to the iPort have a junction with the East Coast Main Line that enables traffic to arrive at and leave from the iPort in both directions?
- Will the Rossington Branch have a connection to the Joint Railway to give a route for passenger trains between Doncaster and the Joint Railway?
- How will freight trains get from the iPort to the Great Northern Great Eastern Joint Line to go South for Felixstowe?
But it does seem that Maltby and all those villages will be getting a busy railway through their midst.
It would surely be sensible to add in a few passenger services, that connect Maltby and all the other villages to perhaps Doncaster, Sheffield and Worksop.
.
The Anonymous Widower 