Sugar Loaf railway station
Sugar Loaf railway station is a railway station in Powys, Wales, and is the most geographically remote station on the Heart of Wales Line. It is located one mile to the north-east of a small but prominent knoll known as Sugar Loaf, around which the A483 road loops.[1] The line through here was opened by the Central Wales Extension Railway in 1868; the station was closed to passengers in 1965 but subsequently reopened to traffic in 1984.[2]
Sugar Loaf | |
---|---|
Welsh: Dinas y Bwlch | |
Sugar Loaf station in April 2017 | |
Location | |
Place | Sugar Loaf Mountain, Llandovery |
Local authority | Powys |
Coordinates | 52.082°N 3.687°W |
Grid reference | SN844438 |
Operations | |
Station code | SUG |
Managed by | Transport for Wales |
Number of platforms | 1 |
DfT category | F2 |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2014/15 | |
2015/16 | |
2016/17 | |
2017/18 | |
2018/19 | |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
|
This station is a request stop used mainly by trekkers and cyclists, since it is the nearest stop to the Sugar Loaf vantage point,[3][4] although it was originally built to serve a number of cottages occupied by railway workers (such as signalmen and track gangers).[5] The children of the workers travelled by train to school in Llanwrtyd Wells.[4] South of the station the line reaches the summit at 820 feet (250 m) above sea level and then passes beneath the hills via the 1,001-yard (915 m) Sugar Loaf tunnel, which is approached by gradients as steep as 1 in 60. It then descends steadily for the next 8 1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) down to Llandovery. The climb up to the summit here was a challenging one for train crews in steam days (especially northbound) and the use of banking locomotives was commonplace.
Usage
The station has traditionally seen very few passengers; in 2010/2011 an estimated 84 passengers used the station and in 2014 it was reported that the station was averaging five passengers per month.[2] However, in 2017/2018 it increased its passenger usage by nearly 710% from the previous year, taking it to as many visitors in the year as the previous 17 years combined. Its low usage seems to have made it a popular attraction, although usage at stations with low passenger numbers are clearly subject to statistical blips.[6]
Facilities
The station has basic amenities only - a waiting shelter and timetable poster boards - although it has had a digital CIS display fitted. There is no step-free access available, due to the station entrance being some distance from the nearest road (the A483) along a narrow path and in a cutting.[7]
Services
All trains serving the station are operated by Transport for Wales. There are four trains a day in each direction (towards Swansea and Shrewsbury) from Monday to Saturday, and two services on Sundays.[8] Being a request stop, passengers have to give a hand signal to the approaching train driver to board or notify the guard when they board that they wish to alight from the train there.
Preceding station | Following station | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cynghordy | Transport for Wales Heart of Wales Line |
Llanwrtyd |
References
- Sugar Loaf (Map). 1:25,000. OS Explorer. Cartography by Ordnance Survey. Streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- "Britain's forgotten railway stations". Telegraph.co.uk. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
- "Sugar Loaf". Heart of Wales Line. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- "Sugar Loaf Halt is Wales' quietest station, Arriva says". BBC. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- Heart of Wales Travel Guide Doughty, Audrey, Llandeilo Past & Present; Retrieved 6 July 2016
- Shuttleworth, Peter (11 December 2018). "Why Wales' quietest station, Sugar Loaf, got busier". BBC Wales News.
- Sugar Loaf station facilitiesNational Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 28 January 2017
- Table 129 National Rail timetable, December 2018
Further reading
- Organ, John (2008). Mitchell, Vic (ed.). Craven Arms to Llandeilo. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 86-92. ISBN 9781906008352. OCLC 648080889.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
External links
- Train times and station information for Sugar Loaf railway station from National Rail