Great Western Railway, Transport For Wales and CrossCountry Trains at Newport on April 20th 2024

3rd visit to Newport (Casnewydd) on the South Wales Main Line as well as the junction for the Welsh Marches Line via Hereford and Ebbw Line via Crosskeys

Featuring Great Western Railway, Transport For Wales, CrossCountry Trains and some Freight.

Newport first opened by the South Wales Railway in 1850 which has enlarged twice since opening firstly in 1928 and again in 2010.

It was originally know as Newport High Street however the suffix was dropped in the 1960s after the former nearby Mill Street and Dock Street stations closed.

Its the 3rd busiest station in Wales after Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street.

The station layout consists of 4 platforms and can be accessed in either direction with between Platforms 1 and 2 a through track used by freight and sometimes Empty Stock movements.

Since October 2018 the station is managed by Transport For Wales

Electrification of the lines through here to Cardiff Central was completed in June 2020 which nowadays sees a mixture of Class 800 and 802 IETs running in electric mode as far as Cardiff Central which services from London Paddington proceed from there to Swansea and Carmarthen in diesel mode.

The other IET services operate from Cardiff Central to Taunton, Plymouth and Penzance via Bristol Temple Meads run electric mode as far as Patchway where it switches to Diesel. The only other electric service from London Paddington to Cardiff Central can be operated by a Class 387 Electrostar.

Other GWR services that originate from Cardiff Central are to and from Portsmouth Harbour which are presently operated by Class 158 Sprinters, Class 165 and Class 166 Turbos respectively which reverse at Bristol Temple Meads and proceed via Bath Spa, Westbury, Salisbury and Southampton Central with the only exception if Southampton Central is closed for engineering works being Eastleigh.

Transport For Wales at the time of filming were in the process of overhauling their fleet with Class 150s due to be withdrawn however the Class 153s will be retained for a few more years.

The new Class 197s built by CAF in Newport itself have largely replaced the Class 175s and some workings used by Class 150s and 158s such as Maesteg to Cheltenham Spa, Manchester Piccadilly to Carmarthen as well as recently Cardiff Central to Ebbw Vale Town.

In fact in December 2023 a full hourly service to and from Newport to Ebbw Vale Town was restored which joins the Cardiff services at Pye Corner which the branch itself provides a half hourly service although at present can be Operated by Class 150s and 153s.

Loco sets and Class 197s at present share the Cardiff Central to Holyhead services as well as Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central services with the Loco sets consisting of 4 car MK4 coaches formerly operated on LNER with a 82 DVT Trailer and a Class 67 Loco.

On the day of filming due to engineering works between Bangor (Gwynedd) and Holyhead meant that all services on the North Wales Line towards Holyhead were cut back to Bangor (Gwynedd)

CrossCountry services are presently served by hourly services to and from Nottingham with mostly covers by Class 170 Turbostars. although the occasional one train a day is served by a voyager from Manchester Piccadilly

From December 2024 CrossCountry aim to introduce a long distance service to and from Edinburgh

A future Open Access operator of Grand Union Trains approved in December 2021 which is due to operate 5 direct services a day from London Paddington to Carmarthen calling at Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff Central, Gowerton, Llanelli

However at present there is no confirmed date when its due to start depending on supply issues regarding their fleet. It was originally planned to start in 2024 or Early 2025 however some reports suggest 2026 or 2027.

A lot maybe changing on the South Wales Main Line however even on a warm day Newport can always be busy at any given time.

Filmed on Saturday April 20th 2024 on iPhone 15 Pro and edited on iMovie

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