Carnarvonshire Railway


The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station with Afon Wen.

History

It was later operated by the LNWR then the LMS. At Afon Wen, a junction connected with the Cambrian Line to Pwllheli in one direction and to Porthmadog in the other, with LNWR/LMS running rights to both. The line had two branches, one from Caernarfon to Llanberis, which was built by the Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway and the other from Penygroes to Nantlle, which formed part of the narrow gauge Nantlle Railway, which between Penygroes and Caernarvon had been incorporated into the Carnarvonshire Railway.

Closure

Regular passenger service on the Llanberis branch ceased in the 1930. Likewise the Nantlle branch passenger service also ceased in 1932. The remaining lines and services were shut completely as part of the Beeching Axe in December 1964.

Trackbed re-use

A section of the line, from Caernarvon to Dinas, was incorporated into the reopened narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway as the first phase of the line, in 1997. Several miles of the trackbed southwards from Dinas have been used to improve the A487 road. Some original sections remain and have been used as part of National Cycle Route 8.
The cycle route and the narrow gauge railway share the old trackbed south of Caernarvon to Dinas.
The tunnel under the centre of Caernarfon has been reopened for road traffic.