The Central Wales line, or Heart of Wales line, is the name given to the railway route, currently some 121? miles long, between Shrewsbury and Swansea (the Heart of Wales line proper runs between Llanelli and Craven Arms). It is an amalgam of several separate companies' lines constructed between 1839 and 1868. The most northerly 20 miles of the route traverses the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway between Shrewsbury and Craven Arms and the southern terminus was Swansea Victoria Station (nprn 34874). Following Victoria's closure in 1964, passenger trains terminated at Llanelli Station (nprn 34723) and from 1970 on, at Swansea High Street Station (nprn 409587). The line is currently in use.
Sources: Clift, T., The Central Wales Line, Ian Allan 1982; Smith, M., Portrait of the Central Wales Line, Ian Allan 1995; Doughty, A., The Central Wales Line, Oxford Publishing 1997.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 03 January 2012.