Newport railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the railway station in South Wales. For the railway station in Essex, see Newport (Essex) railway station. For the railway station in Melbourne, Australia, see Newport railway station, Melbourne.
| Newport | |
| Casnewydd | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | |
| Place | Newport city centre |
| Local authority | Newport City Council |
| Operations | |
| Station code | NWP |
| Managed by | Arriva Trains Wales |
| Platforms in use | 4 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 1.828 million ** |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1850 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Newport. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Newport railway station is situated in the heart of the city of Newport. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Arriva Trains Wales. The main station entrance is located on Queensway, and a small section of road known as Station Approach links this to the High Street. The station was originally opened in 1850 by the South Wales Railway company. The station was formerly called Newport High Street railway station before being changed sometime in the early 20th century.
Contents |
[edit] Train services
Hourly services include: First Great Western InterCity Swansea-London express trains; Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff-Manchester and Cardiff-Gloucester regional trains; Central Trains Cardiff-Birmingham-Nottingham "Citylink" service; and the First Great Western Cardiff-Portsmouth Harbour service. The Virgin Trains South West-South Wales-North East and Scotland service occasionally calls at Newport. By a combination of services, there are trains to Cardiff at least every quarter of an hour.
[edit] Facilities
The current station layout consists of four through-platforms. Originally, there were bay platforms either side of the main station building, but these were removed in the 1970s.
Platform 1 is generally only used during peak hours and usually for trains heading towards Cardiff. Platform 2 is the usual stopping point for all westbound services towards Cardiff including First Great Western services to Swansea. Platform 3 is the stopping point for eastbound First Great Western services to London Paddington and regional trains to the midlands and the south/south west of England. Platform 4 is currently out of service but is currently being renovated for use by trains to Ebbw Vale following the re-opening of the Ebbw Valley line in summer 2007. Platform 4 is only able to fit a 4 carraige train before renovation, and will be able to fit up to 12 carriages or a High Speed Train.
A British Transport Police station and a branch of WH Smith are situated on platform 1. The waiting room and customer toilets are situated between platforms 2 and 3, as is the Upper Crust café. Also, between platforms 2 and 3 is a customer help desk. The booking hall is situated between the main entrance and platform 1. There are three main windows for tickets for immediate travel and a travel centre which handles enquiries, complaints and issues tickets for future travel. In the booking hall there is also a small buffet, a bank of telephones, automatic ticket machines and a photo booth. Wheelchair access between platforms is provided by a subway, accessed by a lift from the platforms. Also, a ramp from platforms 2 and 3 leads into a subway that links Mill Street to the city centre. There is a short-stay car park and taxi rank situated to the front and a long-stay car park to the rear which was accessible via a footbridge from all platforms, however closed until Summer 2007 to allow platform 4 renovation. Since October 2005, automatic ticket barriers have been installed. In November 2006, Arriva installed alarms on the fire doors in the subway, which was commomly used as a method of avoiding ticket purchasing. As these doors lead stright into a public subway under the station, the ticketless customer would avoid the automatic ticket barriers. At the same time, the ticket barriers are being used more often, before used during peak periods and match days, now manned thoughtout the day until late in the evening.
[edit] Future developments
The Welsh Assembly Government and Network Rail have agreed a £20 million makeover for the station that will provide a new concourse, a second pedestrian bridge over the tracks and a user-friendly bus-rail interchange at the station. The plans also include an extended platform 4 capable of accommodating up to twelve-carriage intercity trains and a new multi-storey car park for long-stay travellers. The first phase, platform 4 extendtion is being carried out now. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Newport railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Newport railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Arriva Trains Wales Due to open in 2009 |
Pye Corner | ||
| Cardiff Central | Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff-Gloucester and Cardiff-Penzance |
Severn Tunnel Junction | ||
| Cardiff Central | Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff-Manchester Piccadilly |
Cwmbran | ||
| Cardiff Central | Central Trains Cardiff-Nottingham |
Gloucester | ||
| Bristol Parkway | First Great Western Intercity services South Wales Main Line |
Cardiff Central | ||
| Cardiff Central | First Great Western Local services Cardiff-Bristol |
Severn Tunnel Junction | ||
| Cardiff Central | First Great Western Local services Cardiff-Portsmouth Harbour |
Filton Abbey Wood | ||
| Cardiff Central | Virgin Trains Cross-Country Route |
Bristol Temple Meads | ||
