Holyhead railway station

Holyhead railway station (Welsh: Gorsaf reilffordd Caergybi) serves the Welsh town of Holyhead (Welsh: Caergybi) on Holy Island, Anglesey. The station is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line 105 1⁄2 miles (170 km) west of Crewe and is managed by Transport for Wales. It connects with the Holyhead Ferry Terminal.

Holyhead
Welsh: Caergybi
Location
PlaceHolyhead
Local authorityAnglesey
Coordinates53.308°N 4.631°W / 53.308; -4.631
Grid referenceSH247822
Operations
Station codeHHD
Managed byTransport for Wales
Owned byNetwork Rail
Number of platforms3
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.235 million
2015/16 0.219 million
2016/17 0.211 million
2017/18 0.220 million
2018/19 0.217 million
History
Original companyChester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 August 1848 (1848-08-01)First station opened
15 May 1851Station resited
1 January 1866Station resited
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Holyhead from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History
Holyhead station in September 1967 under British Rail.

The first station in Holyhead was opened by the Chester and Holyhead Railway on 1 August 1848, but this was replaced by the second on 15 May 1851.[1]

The present station was opened by the London and North Western Railway on 17 January 1866[1] and still retains its overall roof. It originally had four platforms, but only three are currently in use, the track to the former platform three having been lifted.

Platform one on the western side of the station is separated from the other two by the ferry terminal buildings and inner harbour and is the one normally used by Avanti West Coast services to London Euston. Most Transport for Wales DMU services use platform two. Platform three is outside the train shed and is used by the early morning Premier Service to Cardiff Central, plus a few other trains at busy periods. There are carriage sidings and servicing facilities alongside platform one, whilst platform three also has an engine release line & run-round loop available.

A rail-served container terminal next to the station closed in 1991 when the traffic transferred to Liverpool.[2] It has since been demolished and is now used as a car parking area for the Stena Line ferry service.[3]

Passenger ships previously used to berth in the inner harbour next to Platform 1, this ceased when the port was re-developed. Stena Line built an administration building between platforms 1 and 2 in the early 1990s.

Facilities

The station is fully staffed, with a ticket office in the main ferry terminal - this is manned seven days per week (06:10-19:10 Mondays to Saturdays, 10:30-17:30 Sundays). Self-service ticket machines are also provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. The terminal also offers covered waiting accommodation, a payphone, a photo booth, left luggage office, toilets, shops, and a cafe. Train running details are offered via digital information screens, timetable posters, and automated announcements. Step-free access is available to all platforms.[4]

Services
Stena House and Platform 2

Holyhead is served by a basic Transport for Wales hourly service throughout the week (although less frequently on winter Sundays) to Shrewsbury with services continuing to Birmingham International and Cardiff Central on alternate hours. A limited number of trains (mostly early morning and late evening) run to/from Crewe, whilst two services operate to Manchester Piccadilly on weekdays only. Most Sunday services run to/from Crewe.[5]

Avanti West Coast operate services to London Euston via the West Coast Main Line, with six departures and five arrivals from London Euston on weekdays, with a sixth arrival from Birmingham New Street, four services to and from London Euston on Saturdays and four departures and three arrivals from Euston on Sundays, with the fourth arrival originating at Crewe.

Holyhead station adjoins the Holyhead Ferry Port, with sailings to both Dublin and, until September 2014, to Dún Laoghaire. It is connected to the town centre by a steel pedestrian/cycle bridge named The Celtic Gateway.

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Transport for Wales Rail
North Wales Coast Line
Terminus
Bangor (Gwynedd)
Transport for Wales RailTerminus
Bangor
Avanti West Coast
London Euston-Holyhead
Terminus
 Ferry services
Terminus   Irish Ferries
Ferry		   Dublin Port
Terminus   Irish Ferries
high-speed catamaran		   Dublin Port
Terminus   Stena Line
Ferry		   Dublin Port

The Celtic Gateway

The Celtic Gateway (Welsh: Porth Celtaidd) is a stainless steel pedestrian and cycle bridge located in Anglesey, Wales. Opened on 19 October 2006 by Andrew Davies AM[6] to connect Holyhead's railway station and ferry terminal with the town centre,[7]

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 122. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Holyhead, 23 December 1980 www.2D53.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-08-05
  3. Freightliners to Holyhead 1971 - 1991 www.penmorfa.com; Retrieved 2013-08-05
  4. Holyhead station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 14 March 2017
  5. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 81
  6. Info from the Holy Island website Archived 18 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Info on the bridge and site Archived 22 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2011). Bangor to Holyhead. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 61-78. ISBN 9781908174017. OCLC 795179106.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Allen, David (21 October – 3 November 1998). "Seaside signalling in North Wales". RAIL. No. 342. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 40–42. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
  • "Holyhead station's £3m repairs on schedule". RAIL. No. 343. EMAP Apex Publications. 4–17 November 1998. p. 11. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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