Conwy railway station

Conwy railway station serves the ancient walled town of Conwy, Wales, and is located on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line. There are through services to Chester via Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn and Flint in one direction and to Bangor & Holyhead in the other. After arrival at Chester, most trains go forward to either Crewe, Cardiff or Birmingham International.

Not to be confused with Glan Conwy railway station.

Conwy
Location
PlaceConwy
Local authorityConwy
Coordinates53.280°N 3.831°W / 53.280; -3.831
Grid referenceSH770784
Operations
Station codeCNW
Managed byTransport for Wales
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryF2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 41,560
2015/16 46,336
2016/17 48,832
2017/18 57,006
2018/19 64,442
History
Key datesOpened 1848 (1848)
Original companyChester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 May 1848Opened as Conway
14 February 1966Closed
29 June 1987Reopened as Conwy
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Conwy from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened by the Chester and Holyhead Railway on 1 May 1848; it was closed as part of the Beeching cuts on 14 February 1966 but reopened on 29 June 1987[1] as a request stop. Upon reopening, the Welsh spelling Conwy was adopted, in contrast to the Anglicised form Conway used until closure in 1966.[1]

The original station had substantial decorated mock-Tudor style buildings on both sides (being sited within the town walls), along with canopies and a footbridge - this was however demolished soon after closure and no trace now remains.[2] The modern 1987 replacement has only basic amenities, no ticket office and shorter platforms.

Facilities

The station platforms can only fully accommodate 2 coaches. Services operated by longer DMUs that call at this station do so under 'local door operation', whereby passengers may only board or alight through one door of the train, usually the leading door of the second coach. This avoids obvious safety risks presented by passengers alighting from doors that are not adjacent to the platform. Each platform has an open sided shelter for waiting passengers, a customer help point, timetable poster boards and digital CIS displays. There is no ticketing provision and the station is unmanned - tickets must be bought on the train or in advance of travel. Step-free access is available (via ramps) to both sides.[3]

Services

There is a basic two-hourly service each way Monday to Saturday, improving to hourly at certain times (morning peak and late afternoon/early evening). Trains run between Holyhead and Chester and then on southbound via Shrewsbury to either Cardiff Central or Birmingham International.[4] The Sunday service is infrequent (particularly in winter), with large gaps between trains. Services run to Holyhead and one of Crewe, Cardiff Central, Wolverhampton or Manchester Piccadilly.

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Transport for Wales
North Wales Coast Line
  • Conwy railway station in May 2005
  • The station in 1962
  • View westward, towards Bangor and Holyhead in 1962
  • Conwy railway station in 1848

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Disused Stations - Conway Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 30 May 2017
  3. Conwy station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  4. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 81

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Rhyl to Bangor. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 71-80. ISBN 9781908174154. OCLC 859594415.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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