Cambrian Line

Cambrian Line
An Arriva Trains Wales Class 158 pulls into Dovey Junction station, where the line splits to Pwllheli and Aberystwyth
Overview
Other name(s)	Cambrian Coast Line
Native name	Rheilffordd y Cambrian
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	England: Shropshire Wales: Powys Ceredigion Gwynedd
Termini	Shrewsbury Pwllheli / Aberystwyth
Stations	33
Services	Shrewsbury - Pwllheli Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth
Operation
Opened	1855 - 1869
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Arriva Trains Wales
Character	Rural
Rolling stock	Class 158 Express Sprinter Class 97 Tractor
Technical
Line length	Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth 80 mi 59 ch (129.93 km) Shrewsbury - Pwllheli 117 mi 69 ch (189.68 km)
Number of tracks	1 (2 in some stations)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	None

The Cambrian Line (Welsh: Rheilffordd y Cambrian) is a railway that runs from Shrewsbury (in Shropshire, England) to Aberystwyth (in Ceredigion) and Pwllheli (in Gwynedd), both on the west coast of Wales. The line from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli is sometimes called the Cambrian Coast Line.

The railway is scenic: it runs through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales and along the coast of Cardigan Bay.

The line includes long sections of rural single track and is designated as a community rail partnership.

From Shrewsbury, the line heads west through northern Powys, serving the towns of Welshpool and Newtown. At Dovey Junction, a short distance west of Machynlleth, the line splits into two branches: the southern branch goes to Aberystwyth, and the longer, northern branch continues to Pwllheli via the Cambrian Coast Line, crossing the River Mawddach by Barmouth Bridge.

The line is made up of:

These lines were constructed between 1855 and 1869. From Buttington Junction west became part of the Cambrian Railways in 1864.

The Cambrian Railways became part of the Great Western Railway. On nationalisation these lines were operated first by the Western Region of British Railways and later by the London Midland Region. In a later reorganisation, passenger services were operated by the Regional Railways Central sector. Following privatisation in the mid 1990s, passenger services were first operated by Central Trains, then by Wales & Borders from 2001 and, since late 2003, by Arriva Trains Wales.