South Wales Main Line

Swindon-Swansea
Severn tunnel
Route length:	114 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	(to Cardiff Central) 25kV / 50hz  ~
Legend 0.00 London Paddington Great Western Main Line 77.25 Swindon Golden Valley Line Wootton Bassett Great Western Main Line Hullavington Alderton tunnel badminton Chipping Sodbury Tunnel Chipping Sodbury Westerleigh Junction Cross-Country Route Coalpit Heath Winterbourne 117.75 Bristol Temple Meads 116.75 Lawrence Hill 116.25 Stapleton Road 113.00 Filton Abbey Wood 111.75 Bristol Parkway Stoke Gifford Junction Freight line to Avonmouth 113.00 Patchway (Directional routing) 116.50 Pilning Severn tunnel Caldicot Gloucester-Newport Line 123.50 Severn Tunnel Junction Magor Llanwern Freight line to Uskmouth East Usk Welsh Marches Line River Usk 133.50 Newport Hillfield tunnel Ebbw Valley Line Alexandra Dock Junction Marshfield Freightliner Terminal Long Dyke Junction Valley Lines 145.25 Cardiff Central River Taff Vale of Glamorgan Line and Valley Lines Cardiff Canton TMD Leckwith Junction Valley Lines via Radyr according to Llantristant 156.25 Pontyclun 161.50 Pencoed Vale of Glamorgan Line 165.25 Bridgend Maesteg Line 171.50 Pyle Water Street Junction Freight line to Tondu Margam TMD 177.50 Port Talbot Parkway Baglan Bay 179.75 Baglan 181.50 Briton Ferry Court Sart Junction 183.00 Neath Freight line to Aberpergwm Freight line to Llanelli 187.00 Skewen 188.75 Llansamlet West Wales Line Landore TMD Swansea Loop East Junction 191.00 Swansea

The South Wales Main Line is a railway line in Great Britain . It branches off the Great Western Main Line at Wootton Bassett near Swindon and runs through the seven kilometer-long Severn Tunnel to South Wales . It finally reaches Swansea via Newport and Cardiff .

Transport for Wales / Trafnidiaeth Cymru is responsible for regional transport in Wales , while Great Western Railway offers express trains to London . East of Cardiff also run individual CrossCountry trains and regional trains from Great Western Railway to Bristol .

history

The original route of the Great Western Railway (GWR) between London and South Wales branched off from the Great Western Main Line at Swindon and made a detour via Stroud , Gloucester and Chepstow , before rejoining the line that still exists east of Newport. For this reason, the GWR had the nickname Great Way Round ("great way around", in the sense of "great detour").

The Severn Tunnel opened in 1886 and cut the travel time to South Wales by over an hour. The trains ran from Swindon via Bristol and on to the tunnel. In 1903 the so-called Badminton Line was opened. This 53 km long route via Chipping Sodbury enabled another considerable shortening of the travel time, as the detour via Bristol Temple Meads could be omitted. In addition, the slope towards the tunnel ramp for coal trains was easier to cope with.

Infrastructure

On the section between Severn Tunnel Junction station and Cardiff, the line is four-track, the other sections are double-track. The speed limit between London and the Severn Tunnel is 125 mph (201 km / h), and between the Severn Tunnel and Swansea trains reach 90 mph (144 km / h). However, the top speeds are lower on some short sections. There are plans to renew the tracks and signals in Wales to increase speed.

See also

• List of railway lines in Great Britain
• Rail transport in Great Britain