Llanfairpwll railway station
Encyclopedia
Llanfairpwll railway station is a station on the North Wales Coast Line
from London
Euston station
to Holyhead
on Anglesey
. It serves the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
.
Opened in 1848 the station suffered a catastrophic fire on 13 November 1865 and had to be totally re-constructed. The station was actually closed for four years between 1966 and 1970 but was re-opened (with a single wooden platform) due to the fire on the Britannia Bridge
and became for a short while the terminus for trains from Holyhead
. It was again closed in January 1973 but only for four months and re-opened with two non-wooden platforms. The station master
s house was sold in 1994 to a private company and is now a warehouse shop. The footbridge between the two platforms (the only one on the island) and the signal box remains but a turntable, sidings and goods yard have disappeared, the latter two under a car park.
The station is known for its longer name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch, but this is a Victorian composition primarily for the benefit of tourists. It comprises the full name of the village, plus local topographical details, plus the name of a neighbouring church etc. The hyphens are usually omitted.
, trains usually stop (every two hours) at the station only on request. These are Arriva Trains Wales
services between Holyhead and Chester
via Bangor
, Llandudno Junction
, Colwyn Bay
, Rhyl
, Prestatyn
and Flint
and include direct services to Cardiff
, Wrexham
, Crewe and Birmingham International
. There is a limited service (seven trains each way) on Sundays.
The station has very short platforms, only 37 metres (40.5 yd) long. Only one door is opened for passengers to board and alight.
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...
from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Euston station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
to Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. It serves the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales, situated on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. This village has the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest...
.
Opened in 1848 the station suffered a catastrophic fire on 13 November 1865 and had to be totally re-constructed. The station was actually closed for four years between 1966 and 1970 but was re-opened (with a single wooden platform) due to the fire on the Britannia Bridge
Britannia Bridge
Britannia Bridge is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic...
and became for a short while the terminus for trains from Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
. It was again closed in January 1973 but only for four months and re-opened with two non-wooden platforms. The station master
Station master
The station master was the person in charge of railway stations, in the United Kingdom and some other countries, before the modern age. He would manage the other station employees and would have responsibility for safety and the efficient running of the station...
s house was sold in 1994 to a private company and is now a warehouse shop. The footbridge between the two platforms (the only one on the island) and the signal box remains but a turntable, sidings and goods yard have disappeared, the latter two under a car park.
The station is known for its longer name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch, but this is a Victorian composition primarily for the benefit of tourists. It comprises the full name of the village, plus local topographical details, plus the name of a neighbouring church etc. The hyphens are usually omitted.
Services
Although famous for having the longest station name in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, trains usually stop (every two hours) at the station only on request. These are Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
services between Holyhead and Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
via Bangor
Bangor, Wales
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
, Llandudno Junction
Llandudno Junction
Llandudno Junction , once known as Tremarl, is a small town in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. It is part of the ancient parish of Llangystennin, and it is located south of Llandudno. It adjoins Deganwy and is to the east of the walled town of Conwy, which is on the opposite side of the River...
, Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
, Rhyl
Rhyl
Rhyl is a seaside resort town and community situated on the north east coast of Wales, in the county of Denbighshire , at the mouth of the River Clwyd . To the west is the suburb of Kinmel Bay, with the resort of Towyn further west, Prestatyn to the east and Rhuddlan to the south...
, Prestatyn
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside resort, town and community in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a population of 18,496.-Prehistory:...
and Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and include direct services to Cardiff
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
, Wrexham
Wrexham General railway station
Wrexham General railway station is a main line railway station and the main railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, but services are also provided by Virgin Trains who operate a service to London Euston...
, Crewe and Birmingham International
Birmingham International railway station
Birmingham International railway station is located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham in England.The station is on the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line 14 km east of Birmingham New Street and serves both Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition...
. There is a limited service (seven trains each way) on Sundays.
The station has very short platforms, only 37 metres (40.5 yd) long. Only one door is opened for passengers to board and alight.
See also
- Another image
- Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway stationRhoose Cardiff International Airport railway stationRhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Rhoose and Cardiff Airport. A dedicated shuttle bus connects this station with the airport terminal building....
- the station with the longest officially used name in Great Britain. - Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigionGorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigionGolf Halt is a small railway halt on the Fairbourne Railway in Gwynedd, North Wales.Until 2007 the station was known as Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion -Overview:...
- a station name contrived to be longer than Llanfairpwll - Longest place names in the English language
External links
- Slater's Directory of North & Mid Wales, 1895 uses all three of the short names for the village - and does not mention the long form.