Llandovery railway station

Llandovery

Welsh: Llanymddyfri
National Rail
General information
LocationLlandovery, Carmarthenshire
Wales
Coordinates51°59′42″N 3°48′11″W / 51.995°N 3.803°W / 51.995; -3.803
Grid referenceSN763345
ManagerTransport for Wales
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeLLV[1]
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Opened1 April 1858
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 478
2021/22Increase 6,656
2022/23Increase 9,588
2023/24Increase 12,692
2024/25Increase 13,702
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureLlandovery Station
Designated12 March 1996
Reference no.82888[2]
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Llandovery railway station serves the market town of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The station is on the Heart of Wales Line, 29 miles 24 chains (47.2 km) from Llandeilo Junction, near Llanelli, and is located between Llanwrda and Cynghordy.[3] All trains are operated by Transport for Wales, who also manage the station.

History

Refurbished station building which houses a cafe and gallery, seen in 2014

It was opened by the independent Vale of Towy Railway company on 1 April 1858 as the terminus of a branch from Llandeilo,[4] although the VoTR was soon leased by the Llanelly Railway, which had built the route northwards from Llanelli in stages since 1833.[5] The Llanelly company in turn soon became part of the GWR. The LNWR's Central Wales Extension Railway arrived from the north a decade later to complete the through route between Craven Arms and Swansea, wafter the completion of the Cynghordy viaduct.[6]

The station sits at the bottom of an 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) descent from the line's southern summit at Sugar Loaf tunnel and, until August 1964, a locomotive shed was in operation here to house the engines used for assisting northbound trains (the ruling gradient on this section being 1 in 60).[7][8]

There is a passing loop and level crossing (of the A40 road) at the station, although the token instruments for the single line and crossing barriers are both operated by the train crew under the supervision of the signaller at Pantyffynnon.[9] The loop had been temporarily decommissioned between 2008 & 2010, but is in use again after the automatic point machines were renewed in June 2010.

Refurbished station buildings were opened by Prince Charles in June 2011,[10] having closed in 1992.[11]

The station was shortlisted for the Best Station (Small) at the 2019 National Rail Awards.[11]

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket machine, so all tickets need to be purchased prior to travel or on board the train. There are shelters, CIS screens and customer help points on each platform. Step-free access is provided to both platforms.[12]

A local volunteer group runs a cafe and gallery in the main station building.[13]

Passenger volume

Passenger volume at Llandovery[14]
2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Entries and exits 20,264 19,427 16,717 20,305 19,796 18,756 20,050 20,094 17,628 16,964 18,890 17,024 15,596 16,732 15,750 15,688 478 6,656 9,588 12,692 13,702

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

There are five trains a day northbound to Shrewsbury from Monday to Saturday and six southbound to Swansea (one train starts/terminates here, but doesn't run on Saturdays); two services each way call on Sundays. An extra Monday to Saturday departure each way was reintroduced at the winter 2025 timetable change.[15]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Llanwrda   Transport for Wales
Heart of Wales Line		   Cynghordy

References

  1. ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Cadw. "Llandovery Station (82888)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (2023). Railway Track Diagrams; 3: Western & Wales (7th ed.). Frome: TRACKmaps. p. 29. ISBN 978 1999627164.
  4. ↑ Quick 2023, p. 287.
  5. ↑ Body, p.104-5
  6. ↑ "National Transport Trust". www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Llandovery - 87KRail UK; Retrieved 7 July 2016
  8. ↑ "Heart of Wales Travel Guide" Doughty, Audrey, Llandeilo Past & Present; Retrieved 7 July 2016
  9. ↑ Stewart, Oliver (4 December 2020). "RAIB Report: Near-miss at Llandovery level crossing, Carmarthenshire on 6 June 2013" (PDF). orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Charles and Camilla open Llandovery railway station". BBC News website. BBC. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  11. 1 2 "Carmarthenshire station in running for top rail award". Transport For Wales News. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Llandovery Station | National Rail". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Caton 2018, p. 125.
  14. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Table 130 National Rail timetable, December 2025

Bibliography

  • Body, G. (1983), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Western Region, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 0-85059-546-0
  • Caton, Peter (2018). Remote Stations. Leicestershire: Matador. ISBN 978-1-78901-408-2.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Llandovery railway station.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.