Other commitments and pressures on my time have meant that the
WalesRails pages have had to take a back seat of late, and have been carrying 2009
information.
Most of the National Network pages have been updated, and a start
has been made on the Preserved railway pages. It is hoped that most of the site will be
brought fully up to date by the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend. Apologies for any
disappointment this has caused.
Deryck Lewis (WalesRails) May 27 2010
PS. (May 30)
Most of the update has been completed. See highlighted note below.
The thumbnail maps on each of the WalesRails pages now all
indicate the location of the route or railway covered by that page, a facility previously
restricted to preserved railways only.
National Network times
The period of validity of published timetables has changed and do not fall
into their usual Summer and winter designations. WalesRails pages carry details
of timings which are valid until from May 17 until December 14 2009.
Check with the route operator if you
plan to travel after those dates.
- Wales and Borders and Cardiff Railway Company services in Wales are now operated by
Arriva Trains Wales which took over the franchise on December 7 2003. These pages have
expanded so much that they tend to take some time to load. Both sites have now been split
into two sections, so that the visitor can hasten access by choosing which section to open.
For those with faster connections, the full version remains available.
- Arriva Trains Wales now serves a new station at Llanharan on the
mainline between Cardiff and Bridgend
- On February 6 2008, the Western Valleys Branch between
Ebbw Vale and Cardiff opened.
- Wrexham and Shropshire Train Company began services between Wrexham and
London Marylebone on May 28 2008, and on December 8 introduced a more
frequent service and cut the fastest service by 28 minutes.
- On December 15 2008, Arriva Trains Wales introduced an early-morning
service between Holyhead and Cardiff which cuts the journey time to
four-and-a-half hours by running nonstop between Shrewsbury and Newport.
Preserved Railways
- As outlined above, other pressures have meant that the WalesRails pages
have been neglected, still carrying 2009 information. A start had been made
to bring them up-to-date, with the
Fairbourne and Barmouth,
Pontypool and Blaenavon,
Teifi
Valley,
Vale of
Rheidol and
Welshpool and Llanfair Railways
being the first to be updated. Now (May 30th) the remainder have been
brought up to date, though one or two are still missing some information -
special events, full dates of operation, and the like. This information will
be added as soon as possible.
- The Barry Island Railway has been forced to quit
its site at Barry and has moved to join the Garw Valley
Railway at Pontycymmer.
Finally, the usual reminders
- In response to the FAQ: Is it possible to make a circular tour of Wales using the
railway? The answer is yes and no. There are two 'loops' of track - one in North Wales,
and the other in the south, linked by a length of common track, but rather than a circular
tour it is more like a grotesquely-shaped figure-of-eight. Another possible objection is
that about a fifth of the 500-mile circumnavigation takes place in England. However, you
can judge for yourself by accessing WalesRails: the Grand
Tour page.
- The impact of transport on the environment are considered briefly in Railways and Green Issues: while details of the Greenway scheme, designed to promote sustainable tourism in
South Pembrokeshire, can also be found
- As well as selecting by category/location, information on routes and locations can also
be obtained by selecting the Gazetteer of stations,
which lists stations in alphabetical order with links to the page where further details
will be found, or selecting Routes and Branches
to access the entire national network, which is broken down into shorter sections, with
links to the relevant WalesRails page.
- Freedom of Wales Flexi-Pass tickets allow bus
and rail travel throughout Wales, and free or discounted admission to a number of
attractions, including eight preserved railways.
While it is believed that all links have been tested and are working properly, there
will be inevitably some that may have been missed, or may have been broken during the update
process. Notification of any problems would be welcomed by the author at WalesRails. Thanks!
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Copyright © 1996/7/8/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 by Deryck Lewis.
All rights reserved.
Page created July 14 1996; Redesigned March 29 1999; Last updated
May 30 2010
If you have any suggestions, comments, or glitches to report, please contact the
author at WalesRails
