Mid Wales Railway
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Principal stations (only)
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The Mid Wales Railway was a standard gauge railway opened in 1864 as a North-South route serving central Welsh towns including Llanidloes, Rhayader, Builth Wells and Brecon.
There were over 20 intermediate stations on this rural line. The railway met with the Cambrian Line at Moat Lane Junction, between Caersws and Newtown, and connected to the complex South Wales network in several places.
It should not be confused with the Heart of Wales Line from Craven Arms to Llanelli, nor with the Cambrian Line from Shrewsbury to Machynlleth, both of which run through mid Wales and both of which remain open in 2006.
The railway closed under the 'Beeching Axe' modernisation program of 1963. It has been noted that the line's retention might have acted to reduce the north-south divide [citation needed] from which Wales is now percevied to suffer, as a result of poor infrastructure beween the prosperous south and rural north. Its reopening ocasionally features in discussions of alternatives to by-passes on the A470 road [citation needed].
