Holyhead railway station

Holyhead National Rail
Welsh: Caergybi
Location
Place Holyhead
Local authority Anglesey
Coordinates 53°18′29″N 4°37′52″W / 53.308°N 4.631°W / 53.308; -4.631Coordinates: 53°18′29″N 4°37′52″W / 53.308°N 4.631°W / 53.308; -4.631
Grid reference SH247822
Operations
Station code HHD
Managed by Arriva Trains Wales
Owned by Network Rail
Number of platforms 3
DfT category E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  0.215 million
2005/06 Decrease 0.202 million
2006/07 Increase 0.212 million
2007/08 Decrease 0.209 million
2008/09 Decrease 0.185 million
2009/10 Increase 0.186 million
2010/11 Increase 0.241 million
2011/12 Increase 0.242 million
2012/13 Decrease 0.237 million
2013/14 Decrease 0.233 million
2014/15 Increase 0.235 million
History
Original company Chester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 August 1848 (1848-08-01) First station opened
15 May 1851 Station resited
1 January 1866 Station 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.
UK Railways portal

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 and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales. It connects with the Holyhead Ferry Terminal.

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 Virgin Trains services to London Euston. Most Arriva Trains 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.

Services

Stena House and Platform 2

Holyhead is served by a basic Arriva Trains 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. Two services operate to & from Manchester Piccadilly on weekdays only. Most Sunday services run to/from Crewe.[4]

Virgin Trains operate services to London Euston via the West Coast Main Line (four each way, including Sundays). Virgin also operate one train to Birmingham New Street and 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
Arriva Trains WalesTerminus
Arriva Trains Wales
North-South "Premier" service
Terminus
Virgin TrainsTerminus
  Ferry services  
Terminus   Irish Ferries
Ferry		   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[5] to connect Holyhead's railway station and ferry terminal with the town centre,[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 122. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. ↑ Holyhead, December 23 1980 www.2D53.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-08-05
  3. ↑ Freightliners to Holyhead 1971 - 1991 www.penmorfa.com; Retrieved 2013-08-05
  4. ↑ GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 81
  5. ↑ Info from the Holy Island website
  6. ↑ Info on the bridge and site

Further reading

Media related to Holyhead railway station at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.