Penmaenmawr
National Rail
Penmaenmawr station in January 2012
General information
LocationPenmaenmawr, Conwy
Wales
Coordinates53°16′12″N 3°55′26″W / 53.270°N 3.924°W / 53.270; -3.924
Grid referenceSH718765
Managed byTransport for Wales Rail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePMW
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Opened1849
Passengers
2018/19Increase 12,556
2019/20Decrease 11,418
2020/21Decrease 3,228
2021/22Increase 11,196
2022/23Increase 14,832
Listed Building – Grade II
FeaturePenmaenmawr Railway Station
Designated3 November 1995
Reference no.16520[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Penmaenmawr railway station serves the town of Penmaenmawr, Wales, and is located on the North Wales Coast Line travelling from Crewe to Holyhead, 49+14 miles (79.3 km) west of Chester. The station is a request stop.

History

Aftermath of the Penmaenmawr train crash, 1950

The local granite quarries are a major source stone aggregate railway traffic especially for road building and railway maintenance purposes. Transfer sidings for this traffic are located next to the station and are controlled from the station signal box. This had to be relocated following a fatal accident at the station in August 1950. Six people were killed when a goods train undertaking shunting operations at the station (the locomotive on the freight was LMS Hughes Crab 2-6-0 No. 42885) in the early hours was inadvertently diverted onto the main line, where it collided with the fast-moving eastbound Irish Mail express from Holyhead, which was being hauled by LMS Rebuilt Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 No. 46119 Lancashire Fusilier.[2][3] The poor view afforded of the sidings from the old box was cited as one of the contributory factors to the accident.

An earlier accident occurred near Penmaenmawr on 12 January 1899 when an express freight train, hauled by LNWR DX Goods class 0-6-0 No. 1418, was derailed because a storm had washed away the trackbed. Both locomotive crew were killed.[4]

Facilities

View west towards Llanfairfechan and Holyhead (June 2011)

The station is unstaffed, though it has kept its original Grade-II listed buildings on the westbound platform - these are now used as private residential accommodation.[5] No ticket machine is provided, so all tickets must be purchased prior to travel or on the train. A waiting shelter is located on the eastbound platform, whilst canopies provide a covered waiting area on the opposite side. Train running information is offered via telephone, digital CIS displays and timetable posters. No level access is available to either platform, as the approach ramps on both sides are steeply graded and the footbridge linking the platforms has steps.[6]

Services

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2021)

There are generally two-hourly through train services on weekdays and Saturdays to Holyhead and to Chester via Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn and Flint. Additional trains call during the morning peak and in the late afternoon/early evening. After arrival at Chester, most trains go forward to either Birmingham International or Cardiff Central via Wrexham General, Shrewsbury and Hereford. There are also a few early morning and late evening services to Crewe.[7]

Sunday services from the station are infrequent (particularly in winter), with sizeable gaps between trains. These mainly run to/from Crewe, though there are also trains to Manchester Piccadilly, Cardiff Central and Wolverhampton in the summer months.

Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
Transport for Wales
North Wales Coast Line

Notes

  1. ^ Cadw. "Penmaenmawr Railway Station (16520)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ Penmaenmawr Train Crash 1950 Gathering the Jewels; Retrieved 2009-03-20
  3. ^ Penmaenmawr Signal Box www.signalbox.org; Retrieved 2009-03-20
  4. ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
  5. ^ Hughes, Owen (3 April 2017). "Fancy living in your very own train station?". North Wales Live. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ Penmaenmawr station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  7. ^ GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 81 (Network Rail)

Further reading

Media related to Penmaenmawr railway station at Wikimedia Commons