View source for North Wales Main Line

{{short description|Railway line in north Wales}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{redirect-distinguish|North Wales Coast Line|Coastline of Wales}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name             = North Wales Main Line
| image            = 20303,20309 and 47818 , Colwyn Bay (1).jpg
| image_width      = 280px
| caption          = North Wales Coast Line in [[Colwyn Bay]] along the [[Irish Sea]]
| map              = [[File:North Wales Main line Map.png|280px]]
| other_name       = {{ubl|North Wales Coast Line|Holyhead–Crewe line}}
| native_name      = {{ubl|Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru|Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru|Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru|Prif Linell y Gogledd|Rheilffordd Cryw a Chaergybi}}
| native_name_lang = cy
| type             = Heavy rail
| system           = [[National Rail]]
| locale           = {{ubl|[[Anglesey]]|[[Gwynedd]]|[[Conwy County Borough]]|[[Denbighshire]]|[[Flintshire]]|[[Cheshire]]}}
| start            = {{rws|Crewe}}
| end              = {{rws|Holyhead}}
| stations         = 19
| open             = 1850
| owner            = [[Network Rail]]
| operator         = {{ubl|[[Avanti West Coast]]|[[Transport for Wales Rail]]}}
| character        = Mainly coastal
| stock            = {{ubl|{{brc|67}}|[[British Rail Class 150|Class 150 "Sprinter"]]|[[British Rail Class 153|Class 153 "Super Sprinter"]]|[[British Rail Class 158|Class 158 "Express Sprinter"]]|[[British Rail Class 197|Class 197 "Civity"]]|[[British Rail Class 805|Class 805 "Evero"]]}}
| linelength       = {{convert|105.5|mi|km}}
| tracks           = [[Double track]] mostly (except on the [[Britannia Bridge]] where there is [[Single-track railway|single track]])
| gauge            = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge        = 
| speed            = {{cvt|90|mph|abbr=on|round=5}}
}}
{{North Wales Coast Line RDT}}

The '''North Wales Main Line'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Route Utilisation Strategy – Wales |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/wales/wales%20rus.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Network Rail]] |year=2011 |access-date=7 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607075754/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/wales/wales%20rus.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref> ({{langx|cy|Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru}} or {{langx|cy|label=none|Prif Linell y Gogledd}}; {{lit|north main line}}), also known as the '''North Wales Coast Line''' ({{langx|cy|Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru}}),<ref>Translation used for the service of the same name by Transport for Wales. {{cite web |title=TfW Network Map |url=https://tfw.wales/sites/default/files/2021-10/TfW_Network_Map_Web_011021.pdf |publisher=[[Transport for Wales]] |access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref> is a major railway line in the [[North Wales|north]] of [[Wales]] and [[Cheshire]], [[England]], running from [[Crewe]] on the [[West Coast Main Line]] to [[Holyhead]] on the [[Anglesey|Isle of Anglesey]]. The line has 19 stations, with all except two, {{rws|Chester}} and {{rws|Crewe}}, being in Wales.

The line is not currently electrified, so Avanti West Coast, the current operator of the [[West Coast Partnership]] franchise, currently uses [[British Rail Class 805|Class 805 ''Evero'']] units. [[British Rail Class 221|Class 221 ''Super Voyagers'']] were previously used from December 2007 to December 2024. Plans to electrify the line were announced in October 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Network North |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/network-north |publisher=gov.uk |access-date=4 October 2023}}</ref>  

The line contains several notable engineering structures, including [[Conwy railway bridge]] across the [[River Conwy]], and [[Britannia Bridge]] across the [[Menai Strait]].

==History==
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 into the [[London and North Western Railway]]. Between Chester and [[Saltney Junction]], the line was, from the start, used by trains of the [[Shrewsbury to Chester Line|Shrewsbury and Chester Railway]], later to be incorporated into the [[Great Western Railway]].

So important was the line in the 19th and early 20th centuries to passenger, mail and freight traffic between Britain and Ireland that the world's first experimental and operational [[Track pan#Track equipment|water troughs]] were installed at [[Mochdre railway station|Mochdre]], between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction. Their purpose was to enable steam engines (especially on the Irish Mail) to collect water without stopping. Later, considerable stretches of line between Chester and Colwyn Bay were quadrupled to increase line capacity, but these sections have now been reduced to two tracks.

===Modern day===
In 2018, a £50 million signalling upgrade programme was completed between Shotton and Colwyn Bay. This upgrade saw modular colour lights supervised from the South Wales [[Rail Operating Centre]] in Cardiff replacing the manual signal boxes and mixture of semaphore and older colour lights.<ref>[https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/gbp-50m-north-wales-railway-upgrade-project-underway £50m North Wales Railway Upgrade Project underway] ''Network Rail Media Centre''; Retrieved 4 August 2017</ref>

==Main calling points==
The places served by the route are as follows:
*[[Crewe]]
*[[Chester]]
**[[Wirral line]] diverges to serve [[Birkenhead]] and [[Liverpool]] (Merseyrail)
**Line diverges to serve [[Wrexham]], [[Shrewsbury]] and [[Cardiff]] (via the [[Shrewsbury to Chester Line]]), and [[Manchester]], [[Warrington]] and [[Runcorn]] (via the [[Mid-Cheshire line]] and [[Chester–Warrington line]]).
*[[Shotton, Flintshire|Shotton]]
**The [[Borderlands Line]] connecting [[Wrexham]] to [[Bidston]] crosses at Shotton with interchange facilities.
*[[Flint, Flintshire|Flint]]
*[[Prestatyn]]
*[[Rhyl]]
*[[Abergele]]
*[[Colwyn Bay]]
*[[Llandudno Junction]]
**Lines diverge to serve [[Blaenau Ffestiniog]] and [[Llandudno]] (via the [[Conwy Valley Line]])
*[[Conwy]]
*[[Penmaenmawr]]
*[[Llanfairfechan]]
*[[Bangor, Wales|Bangor]]
*[[Llanfairpwllgwyngyll|Llanfairpwll]]
**Line diverges to [[Amlwch]] ([[Anglesey Central Railway]], disused)
*[[Bodorgan]]
*[[Ty Croes]]
*[[Rhosneigr]]
*[[Valley, Anglesey|Valley]]
**Freight from [[Wylfa]] nuclear power station is loaded at a depot in Valley
*[[Holyhead]]

==Services==
The principal through passenger services are [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] to Holyhead, Bangor, Chester and Wrexham General, operated by [[Avanti West Coast]]; and Crewe to Holyhead, Cardiff to Holyhead, and Manchester to Llandudno, currently operated by [[Transport for Wales Rail]]. A revised timetable has operated since December 2005 incorporating a new service to and from [[Cardiff Central railway station|Cardiff Central]] every two hours. The line still provides the [[United Kingdom|UK]] railway part of the through passenger service to [[Dublin]] using fast car ferries from Holyhead to [[Dublin Port]].

==Future==
[[File:North Wales Coast Line between Chester and Saltney.jpg|thumb|left|North Wales Coast Line between Chester and Saltney, showing the two tracks over the River Dee. The path of the other two tracks which were removed can also be seen.]]
The Welsh Government would like the line to be electrified.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/hs2-report-pushed-electrification-north-6858802|title=HS2 report has pushed electrification of North Wales rail line forward, Welsh Secretary claims|date=21 March 2014|first=David|last=Williamson|work=Wales Online|access-date=27 November 2015}}</ref> Chancellor [[George Osborne]] said in July 2015 that there was a "really strong case" for electrification of the line.<ref>{{cite news |title='Strong case' for north Wales rail electrification |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-33570326 |publisher=BBC News |date=17 July 2015 |access-date=27 November 2015}}</ref> The Electrification Task Force said that the Chester-to-Crewe line was a Tier 2 priority for being electrified in the CP6 period (2019–2024).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.railnorth.org/news/electrification-task-force-final-report-revealed/|title=Electrification Task Force Final Report Revealed|work=Rail North|date=5 March 2015|access-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614071233/http://www.railnorth.org/news/electrification-task-force-final-report-revealed/|archive-date=14 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2023, Prime Minister [[Rishi Sunak]] announced that electrification of the North Wales Coast line would receive £1 billion in funding as part of the Network North policy paper, in conjunction with the scrapping of [[High Speed 2]] north of Birmingham.<ref>{{cite web |title=Network North |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/network-north |publisher=gov.uk |access-date=4 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=North Wales electric rail expected to cost more than £1bn |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-67005350 |publisher=BBC News |date=5 October 2023 |access-date=16 January 2024}}</ref>

===New trains===
[[British Rail Class 221|Class 221]] units previously operated long-distance services to Holyhead from London Euston for [[Avanti West Coast]]. They were replaced by [[British Rail Class 805|Class 805 ''Evero'']] units in June 2024. These new units are able to run using the overhead wires from Euston to Crewe, before  switching to diesel power from Crewe to Holyhead.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hewitt |first=Sam |date=7 January 2020|title=Hitachi wins £350 million order for new West Coast trains|url=https://www.therailwayhub.co.uk/9606/hitachi-wins-350million-order-for-new-west-coast-trains/|access-date=5 June 2020|website=The Railway Hub }}</ref>

[[Transport for Wales Rail]] operate regional services using [[British Rail Class 158|Class 158]] units. These were replaced from 2022 onwards by [[British Rail Class 197|Class 197]] units.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Clark |first1=Rhodri |title=Concern about '197' interior spec |url=https://www.keymodernrailways.com/article/concern-about-197-interior-spec |access-date=3 October 2020 |magazine=[[Modern Railways]]|publisher=Key Publishing Ltd |date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=27 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127232107/https://www.keymodernrailways.com/article/concern-about-197-interior-spec |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Proposed stations ===
{{Further|List of proposed railway stations in Wales}}
There are two proposed railway stations on the line, proposed as part of the [[North Wales Metro]]. The two stations are both in [[Flintshire]]: at [[Greenfield railway station (Wales)|Greenfield]] and [[Broughton railway station (Wales)|Broughton]].<ref name=":2021 MDP">{{Cite book|url=https://tfw.wales/sites/default/files/inline-files/TfW%20Metro%20Development%202021_4.pdf|title=TfW Metro Development 2021 - How we're developing Metro (March 2021).|date=March 2021|publisher=[[Transport for Wales]]|location=tfw.wales|pages=4, 7–8}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=North Wales Metro: Future developments {{!}} Transport for Wales|url=https://tfw.wales/projects/metro/future-developments/north-wales|access-date=15 December 2021|website=tfw.wales|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Sun, sea, sand...and semaphores|first=David|last=Allen|magazine=[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]|issue=307|publisher=EMAP Apex Publications|date=18 June – 1 July 1997|pages=40–45|issn=0953-4563|oclc=49953699}}

{{Railway lines in Wales}}

[[Category:Railway lines in Wales]]
[[Category:Railway lines in North West England]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in Wales]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in England]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1850]]