Crewe and Chester Line
| North Wales Coast Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Overview | |||
| Type | Heavy Rail | ||
| System | National Rail | ||
| Locale |
Anglesey Gwynedd Conwy Denbighshire Flintshire Cheshire |
||
| Termini |
Crewe Holyhead |
||
| Stations | 18 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | 1850 | ||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Operator(s) |
Arriva Trains Wales Virgin Trains |
||
| Character | Coastal | ||
| Rolling stock |
Class 67 Class 150 "Sprinter" Class 153 "Super Sprinter" Class 158 "Express Sprinter" Class 175 "Coradia" Class 221 "SuperVoyagers" |
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| Technical | |||
| Line length | 84.38 miles (135.80 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | Double track mostly except on Britannia Bridge between Bangor and Llanfair PG where it is single track | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
| Operating speed | 90 mph (140 km/h) maximum | ||
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The North Wales Coast Line (Welsh: Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line, is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line.
In April 2006, Network Rail organised its maintenance and train control operations into "26 Routes". The main line through Crewe forms part of Route 18 (The West Coast Main Line). The North Wales Coast Line from Crewe (North Junction) to Chester and North Wales has been designated Route 22 (North Wales and Borders) and this includes the line to Chester from Acton Grange Junction, south of Warrington. The line from Shrewsbury to Chester via Wrexham is Route 14 (South and Central Wales and Borders) (until Saltney Junction).
The line is not currently electrified, so Virgin Trains, the current operator of the InterCity West Coast franchise, currently uses its diesel Super Voyagers, which they have done since December 2007, on routes to Holyhead. There are no official plans to electrify the line, but both the Welsh government and former Chancellor George Osborne have indicated that there is a strong case for electrification in the future.
The line contains several notable engineering structures, namely Conwy railway bridge across the River Conwy, and Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait.
The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly before opening in 1840. The remainder was built between 1844 and 1850 by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company as the route of the Irish Mail services to Dublin. The line was later incorporated in the London and North Western Railway. Between Chester and Saltney Junction, the line was, from the start, used by trains of the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway later to be incorporated in the Great Western Railway.
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