Golden Valley line
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Operating speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) maximum | ||
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The Golden Valley line is the popular name given to the railway line between Swindon, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa in England.[1]
The line was originally built as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in the 1840s. It was opened between Swindon and Kemble, along with a branch line to Cirencester, in 1841. It was a further four years before the remainder of the line, including the tunnel at Sapperton, was completed.
The line diverges from the
Origin of name
The "Golden Valley" is the name given to part of the valley of the
Places served
The towns served by the route are:
- Swindon
- Kemble
- Stroud
- Stonehouse
- Gloucester (through trains must reverse, or omit calling here)
- Cheltenham
The other intermediate stations and halts were closed to passengers on 2 November 1964. Kemble station was a junction for two branch lines, serving Cirencester and Tetbury; both branches closed to passengers on 6 April 1964.
Train services
Passenger services between
Electrification proposal
In 1977, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering
Reinstatement of second track
The line had originally been built as double track, but as a cost saving measure it was reduced to single track between Swindon and Kemble in 1968. It was intended that the whole of the line between Swindon and Standish Junction would be single track, with passing places at Kemble and Sapperton, but protests caused British Rail to abandon the project after reaching Kemble.[citation needed]
Network Rail proposed to reinstate the second track in September 2008, then September 2009, but the plans were referred to the
Initial work involved slewing the single track, as it had been moved to the centre of the trackbed during the singling works. This was followed by excavation and clearance work, then finally installation of the new track. Level crossing works were also undertaken. The line was officially reopened by Anne, Princess Royal in October 2014.[10]
The redoubling was an important step in the
See also
- Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway – fuller details of the earlier stations on this line
- Thames and Severn Canal – runs alongside the line and can be seen from the train, particularly between Stroud and Kemble.
References
- ^ a b Davis, Daniel (25 January 2016). "A History of the Golden Valley Line". Global Railway Review. Russell Publishing Limited.
- ^ "Western Route Sectional Appendix December 2021" (PDF). Network Rail. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Anonymous 1979, pp. 0–2.
- ^ Anonymous 1979, p. 8.
- ^ "Swindon to Kemble Railway (Redoubling)". They Work For You. MySoceity. 30 June 2008.
- ^ "Extra railway line hopes dashed". BBC News. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ^ "Chancellor approves Kemble to Swindon railway upgrade". BBC News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "Swindon to Kemble railway line re-doubling delayed". BBC News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "£45m rail doubling from Kemble completed". Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Redoubling Swindon to Kemble Railway line". Premier Construction News. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
Sources
- Anonymous (Winter 1979). Railway Electrification. British Railways Board (Central Publicity Unit). pp. 0–2, 8.