Milford Haven railway station

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Milford Haven

Welsh: Aberdaugleddau
National Rail logo.svg
Milford Haven railway station (geograph 5082355).jpg
General information
Location Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
Wales
Coordinates 51°42′54″N5°02′28″W / 51.715°N 5.041°W / 51.715; -5.041 Coordinates: 51°42′54″N5°02′28″W / 51.715°N 5.041°W / 51.715; -5.041
Grid reference SM900062
Managed by Transport for Wales
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeMFH
Classification DfT category F1
History
Opened7 September 1863 (1863-09-07)
Key dates
7 September 1863Opened as Milford
1902Renamed Old Milford
1910Renamed Milford Haven
Passengers
2017/18Decrease2.svg 62,752

Up until 1947, three daily 'vacuum fish' express services transported fish from the Haven to various destinations in the UK, including London Paddington, Yeovil and the north of England. [9] Fish vans were often attached to passenger trains. [10] Goods traffic remained dominant over passenger traffic until the commercial decline of the docks in the late twentieth century. [11] Into the twentieth century, direct services to London Paddington were in operation, and a sleeper service remained in place until the 1960s. [5] The sidings were reduced substantially in 1968, although goods traffic continued until the 1980s. [10] InterCity 125 services from London Paddington to Milford ran until the early 1990s, terminating in 1994. [5] [12] Sealink operated a service to Dún Laoghaire briefly between 1978 and 1979 from Milford. [10] A scheme to expand the freight capability at Milford Haven is under development, based on a new import facility for biomass and wood pellets for the energy market in England and Wales. [13] In September 2019, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire Stephen Crabb called on politicians and Network Rail to upgrade Milford station, citing a lack of suitable facilities. [14]

Services

An Arriva Trains Wales service waiting to depart for Cardiff Central Departure for Cardiff Central waits in Milford Haven railway station - geograph.org.uk - 3109315.jpg
An Arriva Trains Wales service waiting to depart for Cardiff Central

The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Transport for Wales. The usual service pattern is one train every two hours to Manchester Piccadilly via Carmarthen, Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff Central, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Crewe and Stockport. [15] Certain non-peak hour services terminate in Carmarthen.

In 2008, the Wales Route Utilisation Strategy identified the requirement for an hourly frequency on the core route into west Wales between Swansea and Milford Haven. [16]

Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Johnston   Transport for Wales
West Wales line 		 Terminus
Disused railways
Johnston
Line and station open		  Great Western Railway
Milford Railway		  Hakin Docks
Line and station closed
Johnston
Line and station open		  Great Western Railway
Milford Railway		  Newton Noyes
Line and station closed

Historical

Until July 1994, British Rail ran a daily train from London Paddington through to Milford Haven via Reading, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Whitland and Haverfordwest, usually operated by an InterCity 125.[ citation needed ] Under the Wales & West franchise services were also more widespread than today. A daily service operated between Milford and London Waterloo via Whitland, Swansea, Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Bradford-on-Avon, Basingstoke and Clapham Junction. Services also ran regularly to Liverpool Lime Street, and several trains per week ran to Plymouth and Penzance via Swansea, Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Plymouth, Truro and St Erth. Before September 2002 it was also not uncommon to see Virgin CrossCountry trains operating from Milford Haven to stations in the north and Scotland, usually Edinburgh and Glasgow via Swansea, Cardiff Central, Bristol Parkway, Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, Glasgow bound trains continued via Haymarket and Motherwell. Occasionally services ran from Milford Haven as far north as Aberdeen on the same route as the Edinburgh bound train, then continuing via Haymarket, Inverkeithing, Perth, Dundee, Arbroath and Montrose. These services were usually operated by an InterCity 125 set.[ citation needed ]

Facilities

Waiting facilities include a covered shelter, as the original station building has been demolished. A free carpark is located opposite the platform, with capacity for 15 vehicles. An independent ticket office operates from a site on the station. The station is staffed on a part-time basis. [17] Train running details are offered via timetable posters, a customer help point and digital information screens. Step-free access is available from the main entrance and car park to the platform.

A commemorative stone and plaque was unveiled in September 2013 on the site of the former station building to mark the 150th anniversary. [18]

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Hakin is a coastal village in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It belongs to the parish of Hubberston in the historical hundred of Roose. It is located directly to the west of the larger town of Milford Haven, and is a district of the community of Milford Haven It had a population of 2,313 inhabitants in 2001.

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Hakin Dock railway station was a railway station in the town of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Located within the commercial docks at Hakin, it was constructed to service an anticipated transatlantic trade between Milford Haven and New York City. It was the terminus of the Milford Junction Railway, itself a branch of the South Wales Railway. Opened in 1888, it was short lived and was no longer operating as a station for passengers by the early 20th century.

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References

  1. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 159, 177, 160. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. 1 2 3 Wing Commander Ken McKay A Vision of Greatness: The History of Milford 1790-1990, Brace Harvatt Associates, 1989. ISBN   978-0-9515212-0-5
  3. ↑ James Frederick Rees The Story of Milford, University of Wales Press, 1954 ASIN B000MYZBCQ
  4. ↑ Milford’s Railway: 150 years old Archived 8 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine , Pembrokeshire Rail Travellers Association, Article: Newsletter 100: April 2013, Gale, John, retrieved 14 October 2013
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parker, Richard, The Railways of Pembrokeshire, Noodle Books, 2008. ISBN   978-1-906419-07-3
  6. ↑ "Vision of Britain Descriptive Gazetteer entry for MILFORD", Wilson, John Marius (1870-1872). Retrieved 9 October 2011
  7. 1 2 Parker, Richard Neyland: A Great Western Outpost, KRB Publications, 2002. ISBN   0-9542035-3-4
  8. ↑ laluciole.net: A history of Britain's broad gauge railways [ permanent dead link ]. Retrieved 30 January 2010
  9. 1 2 Barrie, Derek A Regional History of the Railway of Great Britain: Vol. 12, South Wales, Thomas & Lochar, 1994. ISBN   978-0-946537-69-3
  10. 1 2 3 Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, Carmarthen To Fishguard (Western Main Lines), Middleton Press, 2010. ISBN   978-1-906008-66-6
  11. ↑ Hakin CP Junior School Hakin: A Pictorial History, C.I.T Print Services, Haverfordwest, 1998. ISBN   0-9529672-1-9
  12. ↑ Intercity Magazine Network Map 1993. Retrieved 5 December 2012
  13. ↑ Network Rail: Wales Route Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 9 January 2013
  14. ↑ Make Milford station upgrade a priority – Crabb www.stephencrabb.com Retrieved 7 October 2019
  15. ↑ Table 128 National Rail timetable, December 2018
  16. ↑ Wales Route Utilisation Strategy Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Network Rail Publication, November 2008
  17. ↑ "National Rail Enquiries – Milford Haven Station" . Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  18. ↑ Railway Anniversary Celebrations Steaming Ahead, Western Telegraph Article, 24 August 2013

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