The
website hasn't been updated since the middle of December last year.
I hope to have this done by mid-February. Meanwhile, sorry for the delay.
Please check the
'Updated' date at the foot of pages before using them to plan visits.
Most of the rail services in Wales are now operated by Arriva Trains Wales,
but, in South Wales, First Great Western and Cross Country also make
incursions. In the north, some services are operated by Virgin and First North
Western. On April 28 2008 a new company, Wrexham and Shropshire, began running
trains from Wrexham to London Marylebone, but went out of business in 2010.
The further
north and west you travel the fewer and further apart the stations become. With the exception
of the section skirting Cardigan Bay around to the Lleyn peninsular (27 stations in 57
miles), stations are also wide-spread; the railway consisting basically of a coastal
route in the north and another line which strikes westward across mid Wales before turning
along the Irish Sea coast. A branch along the Conwy Valley and a narrow-gauge
railway links the two, giving the opportunity of a figure-of-eight Grand
Tour of Wales and the Marches.
The Explore Wales Rover tickets
offer eight days' travel throughout Wales, and free or discounted
admission to many attractions including eight preserved railways.
The size and scope of preserved railways in Wales is extremely varied, and
ranges from short lengths of track in urban environments to railways hidden in the lush
valleys of west Wales, or clinging precariously to some of the most spectacular
mountainside in the UK.
Some are embryo railways with no track of their own as yet,
while another has begun to extend its track to reach the site of the highest station in
England and Wales.
In Mid and North Wales, preservation is usually tied up with narrow gauge
railways which once served the slate industry or - in the case of the Snowdon Mountain
Railway - unashamedly targeted the tourist long before tourism became as important an
element in the economy of Wales as it is today.
It is hoped that these pages will prove of worth to the Web surfer, the tourist
planning a stay in Wales, the rail enthusiast, or to anyone with a passing interest in any
combination of the three.
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Copyright © 1996/7/8/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11 /12/13/14/15 by Deryck
Lewis. All rights reserved.
Page created July 14 1996; Redesigned March 29 1999; Updated
January 19 2015
If you have any suggestions, comments, or glitches to report, please contact the
author at WalesRails
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