| Fishguard and Goodwick | |
|---|---|
| The remains of Fishguard & Goodwick Railway Station in 2007 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Goodwick |
| Area | Pembrokeshire |
| Grid reference | SM945381 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| History | |
| 1 August 1899 | Opened as Goodwick |
| 1 May 1904 | Renamed Fishguard and Goodwick |
| 6 April 1964 | Regular services ceased |
| 3 August1964 | all passenger trains ceased |
| 1965 | Reopened for Motorail services |
| 19 September 1980 | Closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
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Fishguard and Goodwick railway station is a disused railway station sited on the edge of the town of Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is just over .5 miles (0.80 km) from the larger and still open Fishguard Harbour station. Following its closure in 1980, it is due for reopening in March 2012 following investment from the Welsh Government.
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The station was the planned terminus of the Rosebush and Fishguard Railway. Complications meant that, despite work having begun at Rosebush in 1878 the line still wasn't completed by 1898 when the company now called the North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway was purchased by the Great Western Railway Company. It is likely that this takeover was prompted by the North Pembrokeshire & Fishguard Railway's plans for a harbour at Goodwick to attract Irish traffic (the GWR had a major such port at Neyland) and/or their ambitious plan to link this new harbour to Carmarthen with their own line to break the GWR's monopoly of rail lines into west Wales.
Goodwick station opened on 1 August 1899 under GWR ownership. The station was called Goodwick until 1 May 1904 when it was renamed Fishguard and Goodwick.[1] It was a terminus until the GWR opened their extension to Fishguard Harbour in 1906 and moved their Irish ferry operation there from Neyland.[2]
The station was closed on 6 April 1964 by British Railways, when local trains between Fishguard and Clarbeston Road were withdrawn. After closure to normal passenger trains the station remained in use for workmen's trains to the RNAD Trecwn, until these services were withdrawn on 1 August 1964.
From 18 June 1965 the station became the terminus of a motorail service from London, the end loading dock behind the former main (up side) platform being used for unloading the cars. Early photographs show the station building to be shorter than it is today, with the extension carried out along with refurbishment for motorail traffic. Motorail kept the station in use each summer season until the regular service ended on 19 September 1980.[3] and the occasional peak service on 16 September 1982[4]
Up to March 2012, the station had its last use in June 1982, when the railway lines at Fishguard Harbour were moved and re-laid.[5]
Following a Welsh Government subsidy allowing an increase in train frequency on the Fishguard line from 2tpd to 7tpd, Goodwick railway station is to re-open in March 2012. £325,000 has been spent on refurbishing the site, including the demolition of the derelict old station building and the realignment of the track by Network Rail.[6]
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordanston Halt Line open, station closed |
Great Western Railway North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway |
Fishguard Harbour Line and station open |
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