Heart of wales line improvements

[anthony263]

It seems that Network rail are to replace and extend some of the passing loops on the heart of wales line from October.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/8190197.stm

Hopefully this & the redoubling of the single line through Gowerton should allow services along the Haert of wales line to be increased to every 2 hours & extended to Crewe which will be good as even though it is a very rural line trains are often overcrowded.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Good to hear that the Knighton loop will be repaired.

 

[krus_aragon]

Am I correct in thinking that they are just repairing/refurbishing the existing loops, as opposed to replacing ones that were actually taken away, like on the Cambrian mainline?

I read the article and thought "ah, a prelude to increased frequencies", but the BBC don't mention anything about the train services. Do you have news of any specific proposals?

 

[robert2000]

so, is there still a question mark over the 5th service.

 

[anthony263]

most of the problems with reagrds to extra services is that they have enough stock to run the extra services its that they cant fit it through the single line section at Gowerton.

as for a 2 hourly service the welsh assembly have said in some of their plans is that services would be increased in frequency and extended to crewer taking over the present 2 hourly shuttle service between shrewsbury & crewe

 

[The Planner]

The problem was that the loops had some really obscure point equipment that only the Cambrian line also had. They apparently couldnt be re-made either so they had to wait until the ERTMS work released some spares. There are no new loops going in.

 

[Techniquest]

It's about time this was done, it's been waiting to be done for quite some time now!

 

[jas_sl]

What's the patronage on this line like? I checked a couple of station figures on the wiki page and some are literally a 7000 a year i.e. about 19 people a day.

 

[anthony263]

the heart of wales line is well used especially since some welsh bus pass holders can travel on the trains for free so that has led to a major increase in passenger numbers and trains which are mostly worked by single class 153's are often overcrowded especially during the summer months

 

[krus_aragon]

the heart of wales line is well used especially since some welsh bus pass holders can travel on the trains for free so that has led to a major increase in passenger numbers and trains which are mostly worked by single class 153's are often overcrowded especially during the summer months

Do bus pass holders get 'counted' as passengers? Bus pass holders travelling on the Conwy Valley line for 'free' have to pay 5p for a ticket, so that presumably shows up in the system as a passenger. I'm sure patronage would be even better with more than one train every four hours!

Edit:
Doesn't the free bus pass travel on the trains stop during the summer months, because of overcrowding issues?

 

[anthony263]

Yes i think the passes are only valid between October & May.

And yes i do think that trains should run at regular intervals not every 4 -5 hours and in order to get rid of the overcrowding i would send the class 153's to do the radyr - cardiff - coryton city line services and send the pacers onto the other valley lines routes and have the heart of wales services run using class 150's

 

[robert2000]

maybe use a class 158 during a peak service or on sundays when they are not needed elsewere.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Does anyone know what the busiest times/days are for the Heart of Wales Line? Being mainly used as a leisure route, I would imagine weekends during the summer? Is there any commuting going on (not counting Craven Arms-Shrewsbury) along the route during the week?

It is one of my favourite lines, though I just wish that the trains would be better and more frequent!

Didn't they run from Crewe to Swansea a couple of years ago? Seem to remember this.

 

[Techniquest]

I know the 1805 off Swansea used to be timetabled to go to Crewe in 2005, I also seem to recall one service on the line being booked to go all the way to Bangor! hock: That one didn't last long!

I believe the first one down to Swansea started at Crewe at 0454 in the same sort of time period too, another one which didn't last too long that!

 

[yorkie]

What's the patronage on this line like? I checked a couple of station figures on the wiki page and some are literally a 7000 a year i.e. about 19 people a day.

Well used line, but with some very little used stations, but the road links are poor and the stations remain as they are a vital service for the people who use them.

I wish little-used roads were subject to the same scrutiny and threatened with closure in the same way that little-used railway stations are.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Direct Crewe-Swansea trains would be great for random cross-Shropshire trips, like Yorton-Bucknall Two villages with great real ale pubs.