The
Golden Valley Line is a railway line from
SwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
to
CheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The line was originally built as the
Cheltenham and Great Western Union RailwayThe Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Great Western Railway at Swindon, Wiltshire, with Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England...
in the 1840s. It diverges from the
Great Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
at Swindon and (after going through the
Sapperton railway tunnelThe Sapperton Tunnels are located about seven miles East South East of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England.-History:The railway tunnel was begun by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union railway in 1839 and taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1843, being completed in 1845.There are three in...
and down the
Golden ValleyThe River Frome, once also known as the Stroudwater, is a small river in Gloucestershire, England. It is to be distinguished from another River Frome in Gloucestershire, the Bristol Frome....
to
StroudStroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
), joins the main Bristol to Birmingham main line at Gloucester, having run parallel with the
former Midland lineThe Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...
from just north of
StonehouseStonehouse railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, England. The station is located on the Swindon-Gloucester "Golden Valley" line.-History:...
. The intermediate towns served by the route are listed below.
- Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
- Kemble
Kemble is a village in Gloucestershire, England.It lies four miles from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Head, the source of the River Thames. Kemble Church is part of the Thameshead benefice, comprising the communities of Kemble, Ewen, Poole Keynes, Somerford Keynes, and...
- Stroud
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
- Stonehouse
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire is an urban area within the Stroud District, in the UK. It is home to a number of factories, such as Dairy Crest and Schlumberger. The town is close to the M5 motorway. Stonehouse railway station has a regular train service to London...
- Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
(reverse)
- Cheltenham Spa
Kemble railway stationKemble railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire. The station is located on the Swindon to Gloucester "Golden Valley" line. Despite its rural location, Kemble station has a high number of passengers, due mainly to the proximity of...
used to a be a former junction for two branch lines serving
CirencesterCirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
and
TetburyTetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
. Both of these lines closed in the 1960s and the Swindon-Kemble section of the line was reduced to single track. Today, Kemble station is mainly used by commuters from Cirencester.
Local passenger services between Swindon and Cheltenham are currently operated by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
. Services are approximately hourly but with some gaps. These are filled by express services from London Paddington to Cheltenham (via the Golden Valley), which are operated by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
.
The part of the line between Swindon and Kemble is single track, the second track having been lifted in the summer of 1968 by British Rail. At that time it was intended that the whole of the line between Swindon and Standish Junction would be single track only but protests caused British Rail to abandon the project after reaching Kemble. Network Rail proposed to put back the second track in September 2008, then September 2009, but the plans were referred to the
Office of Rail Regulation-Acronyms:*Office of Rail Regulation, UK government agency*Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of the United States Administration for Children and Families*Offshore Racing Rules, system to permit different sailboats racing against each other...
. Despite protests by local MPs, the ORR made a preliminary decision that it would not be included in the 2009-2014 HLOS plan for new rail infrastructure. In the
2011 BudgetThe 2011 United Kingdom budget, officially called 2011 Budget - A strong and stable economy, growth and fairness, was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 23 March 2011....
the government announced that funding for the redoubling was to be made available, with works reported to be completed by Spring 2014.
See also
- For fuller details of the earlier stations on this line see the article on the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Great Western Railway at Swindon, Wiltshire, with Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England...
and also http://homepage.ntlworld.com/davidlloyd/CGWURLYHOME.htm