Llandrindod railway station

Llandrindod railway station serves the town of Llandrindod Wells in Mid Wales. It is located on the single line Heart of Wales Line 51 3⁄4 miles (83.3 km) southwest of Shrewsbury and is served by five trains each way on Mondays to Saturdays, two each way on Sundays. Passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales. The facility to pass northbound and southbound trains is used daily.

Llandrindod
Llandrindod railway station building (2018)
Location
PlaceLlandrindod Wells
Local authorityPowys
Coordinates52.242°N 3.379°W / 52.242; -3.379
Grid referenceSO059613
Operations
Station codeLLO
Managed byTransport for Wales
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 43,706
2015/16 39,648
2016/17 40,768
2017/18 40,128
2018/19 40,672
History
Key datesOpened 1865 (1865)
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Llandrindod from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

It is the most used station on the line itself, despite only having four trains a day in each direction (Mon–Sat);[1] this has caused overcrowding on trains, and despite campaigns by local rail groups, the service has not been improved. A fifth a.m peak weekday service from Shrewsbury terminating at the station before heading back north to Crewe, was introduced in the May 2015 timetable change.[2]

History

The station was opened in 1865,[3] as the terminus of a branch line from Knighton by the Central Wales Railway which was absorbed by the LNWR soon after completion. Construction of the Central Wales Extension Railway (another LNWR-backed project) southwards towards Llandovery started soon after and upon completion of this line in 1868, the town found itself on a through route between Craven Arms & Swansea. The line through the station was singled as an economy measure in the 1960s, although a passing loop was left a short distance to the north, near the town's level crossing. However the loop was relocated to the station in 1986 by British Rail as part of the signalling modernisation scheme that centralised control at Pantyffynnon (the level crossing being converted to traincrew operation at the same time whilst the signal box was closed). The redundant No.2 signal box was subsequently also relocated to the station (in 1990) after closure and restored to full working order as a museum. It is located on the southbound platform and is open to the public at certain times.[4]

The passing loop point machines were replaced on 22 August 2010 as part of a £5 million Network Rail modernisation scheme to renew the points at all five loops on the route.[5]

Facilities

The station is notable for having the only staffed ticket office on the entire line, which is staffed on a part-time basis; this is sited within the main building on the southbound platform. When the ticket office is closed, tickets must be purchased on the train. There is a waiting room within the buildings on the northbound side and canopies provide a covered waiting area on the southbound side. Digital display screens, customer help points and timetable poster boards are provided on both platforms – these are linked by a fully accessible ramped footbridge. A pay phone and post box are also provided; though no toilets are available on the station, there are public ones located nearby on Station Crescent.[6]

Notes
  1. GB National Rail Timetable May 2014 Edition, Table 129 (Network Rail)
  2. GB eNRT December 2018 Edition, Table 129
  3. Body, p.104
  4. Llandrindod Wells Town Council Home Page - Visitor Attractions Archived 1 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine www.llandrindod.co.uk; Retrieved 2009-03-02
  5. News From the Heart of Wales Line Archived 3 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.heart-of-wales.co.uk news article; Retrieved 2010-11-07
  6. Llandrindod station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 7 April 2017

References
  • Body, G. (1983), PSL Field Guides – Railways of the Western Region, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 0-85059-546-0

Further reading
  • Organ, John (2008). Mitchell, Vic (ed.). Craven Arms to Llandeilo. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 50–60. ISBN 9781906008352. OCLC 648080889.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Media related to Llandrindod railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Builth Road   Transport for Wales
Heart of Wales Line		   Pen-y-Bont
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