Carmarthen railway station

Carmarthen National Rail
Welsh: Caerfyrddin

71000 Duke of Gloucester at Carmarthen station, 26 May 2007
Location
Place Carmarthen
Local authority Carmarthenshire
Coordinates 51°51′11″N 4°18′22″W / 51.853°N 4.306°W / 51.853; -4.306Coordinates: 51°51′11″N 4°18′22″W / 51.853°N 4.306°W / 51.853; -4.306
Grid reference SN412196
Operations
Station code CMN
Managed by Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms 2
DfT category D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12 Increase 0.421 million
– Interchange  Increase 8,224
2012/13 Increase 0.434 million
– Interchange  Increase 9,411
2013/14 Decrease 0.419 million
– Interchange  Increase 13,840
2014/15 Increase 0.428 million
– Interchange  Increase 13,942
2015/16 Decrease 0.420 million
– Interchange  Decrease 13,524
History
Key dates Opened 1902 (1902)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Carmarthen from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Stopping train from Swansea in 1962
A stopping train for Milford Haven in 1958

Carmarthen railway station is on the edge of the town of Carmarthen, Wales, south of the River Towy. It is on the West Wales Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it. Great Western Railway also operates a limited service between this station and London Paddington (usually one train each way daily, with additional services on Sundays).

Facilities

The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office on platform 1 manned all week (Monday - Friday 06:45 - 18:00, Saturday 08:00 - 18:00, Sunday 10:15 - 17:45). A self-service ticket machine is provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. A buffet and newsagents shop are available here, along with toilets and a waiting room on platform 1; platform 2 has a shelter and bench seating. Train running information is provided by digital CIS displays, timetable posters and automated announcements. Step-free access is available to both platforms, though platform 2 requires the use of a foot crossing - wheelchair users are advised not to use this without assistance.[1]

Services

To the east, Arriva Trains Wales operate regular services to Swansea, Cardiff Central, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly. Great Western Railway currently operate one service per day (Mon-Sat, 3 on Sundays) between this station and London Paddington. The majority of local train services west of Carmarthen are timed to connect with the London Paddington services at either Swansea or Cardiff Central.[2]

To the west, Arriva Trains Wales operate services to Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven and Fishguard Harbour. Carmarthen is the eastern terminus for a few of these services.[3]

The British Transport Police maintain a presence at Carmarthen.

Rail and sea corridor to Ireland

Some of the Arriva Trains Wales boat trains to and from Fishguard Harbour serve the station. These connect with the Stena Line ferry to/from Rosslare Europort in Ireland with a daily morning and evening service in both directions. This route has been in existence since 1906.

History

South Wales Railway

The present station is the third to serve the town and dates from 1902,[4] although the South Wales Railway's main line from Swansea to Neyland reached it some fifty years earlier. This original station was built with westward expansion in mind (being located at the base of the triangular junction half a mile south of the present station) and was poorly sited for the town itself.

Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway

A second station (Carmarthen Town) was opened by the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway in 1860[5] on its route northwards towards Cynwyl Elfed and Pencader which was much better sited for the town (on the opposite side of the river) and this remained in use until its replacement by the current station shortly after the turn of the century. The Town station did however remain in use for goods traffic thereafter beyond the closure of the final portion of the line Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway in September 1973, until the goods yard closed around 1981 - the single track girder bridge over the River Tywi was subsequently removed during 1983.

The Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway, in spite of its name, never actually reached Cardigan, as it was constructed only as far as Newcastle Emlyn (which was reached only in 1895). Cardigan was eventually served instead by the winding Whitland and Cardigan Branch Line from Whitland, the primary junction in Pembrokeshire. The C&CR did however link up with the ill-fated Manchester and Milford Railway at Pencader, putting the town on a through route to Aberystwyth by 1867.

Other railways

Another outlet to the north came courtesy of the Llanelly Railway's branch from Llandeilo, which reached Abergwili Junction in 1864 and whose trains reached the Town station by means of running powers following its takeover by the LNWR in 1873. The final link in the chain of lines to the north was added in 1911, when a branch line from Lampeter to Aberaeron was opened by the Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway. This was worked by the Great Western Railway from the outset, as the company had by this time absorbed the other lines mentioned (apart from the Llandeilo branch, which remained in LNWR hands until the 1923 Grouping).

Closures

Today, none of the lines to the north survive, the first round of closures having begun as early as May 1951 when the Aberaeron line lost its passenger trains. The Newcastle Emlyn line followed suit in September 1952, whilst the Llandeilo branch went in September 1963 and the 'main line' to Aberystwyth in February 1965,[6] although milk trains continued to operate as far as Pont Llanio (near Tregaron) on the Aberystwyth main line until 1970 and to Newcastle Emlyn and to Felinfach on the Aberaeron branch until September 1973. This left only the original South Wales Railway main line to serve the station and left it as a terminus at the end of short spur from the main line at which all trains have to reverse before continuing their journeys. This was not so much of a problem with DMUs but led to the need for a run-round of locomotive-hauled trains which were regularly used until the mid-1980s. Only two of the five original platforms here (the former platforms 2 & 3) are now used, with the majority of trains using the former down main platform (now numbered 1) where the main facilities are located. The other active platform (formerly platform 3, now renumbered 2) is used when two trains are scheduled to call at the same time (also for unit stabling) - it is linked to platform one by a barrow crossing that spans the shunting neck that is used for locos to run around their trains. This is the sole remnant of the former route north.[7]

Gwili Railway

Historically, the line to Aberystwyth and Llandeilo continued beyond the station across the River Towy past the site of the goods yard (now a builders yard) and then through a cutting (that has since been buried under the Carmarthen eastern by-pass dual carriageway) to as far as the former Abergwili Junction.

The Aberystwyth line then turned north out to Bronwydd Arms. From Abergwili Junction northwards, the railway trackbed resumes and is owned by the preserved Gwili Railway which runs preserved trains along part of the Aberystwyth line, through the valley of the River Gwili, from Abergwili Junction, through Bronwydd Arms and Llwyfan Cerrig, to as far as Danycoed en-route, close to Cynwyl Elfed.

The Gwili Railway aims to restore a further 3 1⁄2 miles (6 km) of Track, again following the course of the River Gwili, pass Conwil and further up the valley to Llanpumpsaint.

Notes

  1. ↑ Carmarthen station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  2. ↑ Route 14 South and Central Wales and Borders
  3. ↑ GB eNRT December 2016 Edition, Table 128
  4. ↑ Body, pp.54-55
  5. ↑ Page, p.130
  6. ↑ Page, p.195
  7. ↑ Passengers crossing the tracks at Carmarthen railway station Jaggery, Geograph.org; Retrieved 20132-11-13

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carmarthen railway station.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Ferryside   Arriva Trains Wales
West Wales Line		   Whitland
Pembrey and Burry Port   Great Western Railway
London - Carmarthen		   Terminus
Ferryside   Great Western Railway
London - Pembroke		   Whitland


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.