Rail Transport In Wales
Rail transport in Wales began in the early 19th century initially used for industrial purposes and shortly began to be used for commercial purposes. The Beeching cuts had a significant impact on rail transport in Wales, closing a large number of railway stations. Since then some stations have reopened in Wales and following Welsh devolution, the Wales and Borders passenger rail franchise was established in 2001 and the operator was taken into public ownership by the Welsh Government in 2021. Rail services are generally managed by the Welsh Government whilst rail infrastructure is generally the responsibility of the UK Government. Rail in Wales is mostly operated by Transport for Wales Rail. Current developments include the North Wales Metro, South Wales Metro and Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro. History Early history The world's oldest known iron railway bridge, Pont-y-Cafnau was designed and built in 1793. On 21 February 1804 the first recorded steam-hauled journey ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cardiff Central Railway Station
Cardiff Central () is a major station on the South Wales Main Line. It is located in the capital of Wales, Cardiff, down the line from London Paddington, via , and measured via . It is one of the city's two urban rail network hubs, along with Cardiff Queen Street. Opened in 1850 as ''Cardiff'' station, it was renamed ''Cardiff General'' in 1924 and then ''Cardiff Central'' in 1973. The station is sited at Central Square, in Cardiff city centre. The Grade II listed building is managed by Transport for Wales Rail, and is both the largest and busiest station in Wales. Cardiff Central is one of twenty railway stations in the city and one of two in the city centre, serving as a hub for the Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes. It is an interchange for services between South Wales, West Wales and North Wales, as well as other major British cities. Transport for Wales Rail operates services to most destinations in Wales and to Manchester, while CrossCountry operates trains to , Bi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Penydarren
: ''For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick#"Pen-y-Darren" locomotive, Richard Trevithick.'' Penydarren is a Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. Description The area is most notable for being the site of a 1st-century Roman fort. During the Industrial Revolution it housed Penydarren Ironworks, the third largest of the great Merthyr works. Penydarren was also used by Richard Trevithick as the location for his experiments into steam locomotion. The community and ward has a population of 5,253, increasing to 5,419 at the 2011 Census. Penydarren Park, the site of the Roman fort and the football ground, is today outside the community boundary. Roman fort Its location on a spur of land above sea level, just southwest of the River Taff, made Pen-y-Darren an ideal location to build an occupation outpost fort for the Romans in AD 75, during the governorship of Sextus Julius Frontinus. It was during this pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Transport For Wales
Transport for Wales (TfW; ; ) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consisting of itself and its subsidiaries: Transport for Wales Rail, the train operator of the Wales & Borders franchise, Wales & Borders railway franchise; Pullman Rail Limited; and TfW Innovation Services Limited, a joint venture between TfW (51%) and former operator KeolisAmey Wales (49%). TfW contracted KeolisAmey Wales in 2018 to run using the trading name Transport for Wales Rail Services. Due to a fall in passengers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, COVID-19 pandemic, a Welsh-government owned company, Transport for Wales Rail Limited, took over day-to-day operations of the franchise on 7 February 2021. History TfW was established as an arms-length body by the Welsh Government to provide support and expertise to the transport projects in Wales. In 2017, it procured ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
National Express
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. The company also operates transport services including trains abroad: in the Republic of Ireland, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and South Korea, and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Early years In 1972, the state-owned National Bus Company decided to bring together the scheduled coach services operated by its bus operating companies in the United Kingdom under one brand. Sir Frederick Wood, a prominent businessman and industrialist, was asked to oversee the creation of this new business model and led the group as its chairman from 1972 to 1978. Initially brande ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Select Committee On Welsh Affairs
The Welsh Affairs Select Committee (or simply the 'Welsh Affairs Committee') is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Wales Office, as well as relations with the Senedd. The members of the committee are usually Welsh MPs. Membership Following the 2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ..., a new chair and members of committees were elected: Changes since 2024 2019-2024 Parliament The chair was elected on 27 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020. Changes 2019-2024 Membership 2017–2019 The election of the chair took place on 12 July 2017, with the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wales And Borders
Wales and Borders was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wales & Borders franchise from October 2001 until December 2003. History In October 1996, the Valley Lines franchise commenced operating services around Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys. In August 2000, the Strategic Rail Authority decided to re-organise the Valley Lines and Wales & West franchises. Valley Lines became Wales & Borders from October 2001, being operated by National Express, combining its services with most of Wales & West's Welsh services and the Cambrian Line services from Central Trains. In September 2003 Wales & Borders took over the North Wales Coast Line services from First North Western. Services Wales and Borders operated passenger services in Wales and the West Country as seen in their route map, retaining the Alphaline branding on longer services. It also operated services to Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; ) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, including , , , , and , as well as to certain stations in England such as , , , Crewe, and . In August 2003, Arriva UK Trains was awarded the newly created Wales & Borders franchise by the Strategic Rail Authority, with Arriva Trains Wales beginning operation during December 2003, taking over from Wales and Borders. Following the implementation of the Railways Act 2005 and Transport (Wales) Act 2006, responsibility for the franchise was devolved to the Welsh Government, which worked closely with Arriva Trains Wales during its period of operations. Numerous service changes were made under the company's management; on 6 February 2008, the Ebbw Valley Railway was partially re-opened to passenger services for the first time in over 40 years. Another high-profile ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947, which nationalised the Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and electrification to take place; accordingly, steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway tourist lin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel () is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1873 and 1886 for the purpose of dramatically shortening the journey times of their trains, passenger and goods alike, between South Wales and Western England. It has often been regarded as the crowning achievement of GWR's chief engineer Sir John Hawkshaw. Prior to the tunnel's construction, lengthy detours were necessary for all traffic between South Wales and Western England, which either used ship or a lengthy diversion upriver via . Recognising the value of such a tunnel, the GWR sought its development, tasking Hawkshaw with its design and later contracting the civil engineer Thomas A. Walker to undertake its construction, which commenced in March 1873. Work proceeded smoothly until October 1879, at which point significant flo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Severn Railway Bridge
The Severn Railway Bridge (historically called the Severn Bridge) was a bridge carrying the railway across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney in Gloucestershire, England. It was built in the 1870s by the Severn Bridge Railway Company, primarily to carry coal from the Forest of Dean to the docks at Sharpness; it was the furthest-downstream bridge over the Severn until the opening of the Severn road bridge in 1966. When the company got into financial difficulties in 1893, it was taken over jointly by the Great Western Railway and the Midland Railway companies. The bridge continued to be used for freight and passenger services until 1960, and saw temporary extra traffic on the occasions that the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering work. The bridge was constructed by Hamilston's Windsor Ironworks Company Limited of Garston, Liverpool. It was approached from the north via a masonry viaduct and had twenty-two spans. The pier columns were formed of circular sec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited from Monmouth, from Bristol, and east of the England and Wales border, border with Wales. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary. Gloucester was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans and became an important city and ''Colonia (Roman), colony'' in AD 97, under Nerva, Emperor Nerva as ''Glevum, Colonia Glevum Nervensis''. It was granted its first charter in 1155 by Henry II of England, Henry II. In 1216, Henry III of England, Henry III, aged only nine years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is unde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |