General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Welshpool, Powys Wales | ||||
Coordinates | 52°39′27″N3°08′24″W / 52.657469°N 3.139947°W | ||||
Grid reference | SJ229072 | ||||
Managed by | Transport for Wales | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | WLP | ||||
Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
Key dates | |||||
14 August 1860 | opened | ||||
18 May 1992 [1] | Original station closed and new station opened on track realignment. | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 165,724 | ||||
2020/21 | 33,782 | ||||
2021/22 | 98,128 | ||||
2022/23 | 140,554 | ||||
2023/24 | 155,906 | ||||
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Welshpool railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in Powys,mid-Wales. It was first opened in August 1860,but the current station was opened in May 1992 to allow for track re-alignment,the same day that the original closed,and is a short distance from the original. The station serves the town of Welshpool (Welsh :Y Trallwng),as well as its surroundings.
Built by the Oswestry &Newtown Railway,the original station opened on 14 August 1860. [1] The line was initially operated by the London &North Western Railway before being absorbed by the Cambrian Railways,which became part of the Great Western Railway at the grouping which came into effect on 1 January 1923.
Midland Counties Dairy bought and operated the creamery at Cilcewydd. A siding from the station gave access for milk trains to the creamery.
About 100 metres north of the station were exchange sidings with the narrow gauge Welshpool &Llanfair Light Railway which opened for freight traffic in 1903 and closed in 1956 with a separate station serving passenger traffic until 1931. By 2017 the only remains are part of the cattle dock which has mixed gauge track embedded into concrete track bed. All other remains of this station and the site of the railway were obliterated by the construction of the new A483 road.
There was some severe rationalisation of services under the Beeching cuts in the 1960s,with the old Cambrian main line to Whitchurch via Oswestry closed to passengers in January 1965 and most local stations towards Aberystwyth following suit later that year. Two of the four platforms at the old station were later taken out of use. [1] Subsequent development of the A483 road Welshpool bypass (opened in July 1993) [2] required the railway line to be shifted to the south. To enable this the original station was closed,and a new single island platform constructed by British Rail south of it,to allow realignment in May 1992.
The replacement station platform is reached by a pedestrian bridge crossing both the railway and the A483,with long uncovered inclines to the north and stepped access from the south. There are no facilities beyond a ticket vending machine,small shelter,bench seating,passenger information displays and a customer help point (though the National Rail Enquiries station page does have directions to a local travel agent with National Rail ticketing facilities). [3] The original station building can still be seen across the road,and has been converted into a shop and café.
The passing loop was later extended to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to allow for an hourly train service,and to reduce the impact of delays on the line.
Trains run from here westwards to Machynlleth and then either Aberystwyth or Pwllheli via Barmouth (most trains convey a portion for both routes) and eastwards to Shrewsbury &Birmingham International. There is a basic two-hourly service each way - on weekdays &Saturdays with additional hourly Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth services until mid morning &again during late afternoon and early evenings. On Sundays there is a two-hourly service on the Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth axis,but only a limited service along the coast to/from Pwllheli (three in summer and one in winter). [4]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Newtown | Transport for Wales Cambrian Line | Shrewsbury | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Forden Line open, station closed | Cambrian Railways Oswestry & Newtown Railway | Buttington Line open, station closed | ||
Terminus | GWR and LNWR joint Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway | |||
Heritage railways | ||||
Walking connection with Welshpool Raven Square on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway |
The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.
The Cambrian Line, sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line and Cambrian Coast Line for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the western terminals of Pwllheli, in Gwynedd, and Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, and the eastern terminal at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. The railway line is widely regarded as scenic, as it passes through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales, and along the coast of Cardigan Bay in Snowdonia National Park.
The Minsterley branch was a short railway line that ran from Cruckmeole Junction on the Cambrian Line just south of Shrewsbury to Minsterley in Shropshire. The six-and-a-half mile standard gauge line was the only section built of a plan to connect Shrewsbury with mid Wales. It was part of a joint venture between the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies.
Dovey Junction is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in Wales. It is the junction where the line splits into the line to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales. There is a single island platform.
Shrewsbury railway station serves the town of Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969.
Pwllheli railway station serves the small coastal town of Pwllheli, on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. It is the northern terminus of the Cambrian Coast Railway.
The Cambrian Coast Express is an old named passenger train of the Great Western Railway (GWR), and later British Rail, running from London Paddington via Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli over the Cambrian Line.
Newtown railway station is a railway station serving Newtown, Powys, Wales.
Machynlleth railway station is on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the town of Machynlleth. It was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway (N&MR) and subsequently passed into the ownership of the Cambrian Railways, the Great Western Railway, Western Region of British Railways and London Midland Region of British Railways. It is notable in that there are 22 miles (35 km) separating this station and Caersws, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.
Aberystwyth railway station is located in the town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales; it is served by passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales. It is the terminus of both the Cambrian Line and of the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.
Aberdovey railway station serves the seaside resort of Aberdyfi in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services every two hours calling at all stations between Machynlleth and Pwllheli, including Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech and Porthmadog. Passengers can connect at Machynlleth for trains to Aberystwyth or Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International.
Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station serves the town of Whitchurch in Shropshire, England. The station is 18¾ miles (30 km) north of Shrewsbury on the Welsh Marches Line. The station is maintained and served by Transport for Wales.
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
Four Crosses railway station was a station on the former Cambrian Railways between Oswestry and Welshpool.
The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (L&NR) was a railway company between Llanidloes and Newtown in Montgomeryshire, Wales. It was promoted locally when plans for trunk railways passing through the locality were cancelled; local people saw that a railway connection was essential to the flannel industry in the district. The 17-mile (27 km) line opened in 1859, and at first was isolated from any other railway, but from 1861 it became connected to Oswestry by an allied railway company, and other companies also connected to it. From 1864 the company was incorporated into the new Cambrian Railways company.
Arddleen railway station served the village of Arddlin in Powys, Wales, sited on the former Cambrian Railways between Oswestry and Welshpool. Served by the Oswestry and Newtown railway, it was situated near the English border.
Oswestry railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was closed when passenger services were withdrawn in 1966. The station building today is used as commercial premises, although the Cambrian Railways Society are restoring it.
The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail transport, when local opinion formed the view that the trunk railway companies would not do so. Subscription money for the construction proved very difficult to generate. It was the action of a contractor partnership, Davies and Savin, in agreeing to accept shares as the majority of their payment for construction work, that saved the company from failure.
The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was a railway company in Wales. It built a line from a junction with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to the market town of Machynlleth; the line opened in 1862. Newtown had become the hub of railway lines in the district. Machynlleth was an important town, and extension from there to Aberystwyth and to the coast northward was in the minds of the promoters.
Llanymynech railway station was an important junction station on the Cambrian Railways mainline from Welshpool, Powys to Oswestry, Shropshire, serving the village of Llanymynech which is partly situated in Shropshire, England and partly in Powys, Wales.
Media related to Welshpool railway station at Wikimedia Commons