Carmarthen railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carmarthen | |
| Caerfyrddin | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Carmarthen |
| Local authority | Carmarthenshire |
| Operations | |
| Station code | CMN |
| Managed by | Arriva Trains Wales |
| Platforms in use | 2 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 0.289 million ** |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Carmarthen. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Carmarthen railway station is the original station situated south of the river on the edge of Carmarthen. The station and the now demolished main station the other side of the river primarily existed to serve the now closed route up the coast from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth via Lampeter. As a result, trains calling into the station take a very short detour off the main line up to the now terminus station before turning around and leaving from the same end.
The station has two remaining platforms. Almost all services use platform 1 which has a full set of canopies, toilets and facilities. The bare platform 2 is the other side of the reversing loop and only used as overflow and for storage of trains overnight. Almost uniquely for a British mainline station (though examples exist on quiet branches) access to platform 2 is across the tracks at the end of the reversing loop. The other platform and sidings are no longer used and waiting removal. With the replacement of locomotive hauled services by DMU units and High Speed Trains the reversing loop is only very rarely used by special services such as the Royal Train.
The requirement for trains to turn around limits train length and also prevents services making a short stop at Carmarthen. Plans now exist to replace the station (which is on what is now valuable land in the new development) with a new station directly on the main line.
Historically the line to the Cambrian Coast continued through the station into a main station on the other side of the river (now a builders yard) and out along a bank which is now the bed of the main road out to Bronwydd Arms. At Abergwili junction the railway trackbed resumes and is owned by the Gwili Railway which runs preserved trains up the old Lampeter line as far as Danycoed.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Carmarthen railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Carmarthen railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferryside | Arriva Trains Wales West Wales Line |
Whitland | ||
| Pembrey and Burry Port | First Great Western West Wales Line |
Terminus | ||
| UK railway stations |
|---|
