Conwy railway station

Railway station in Conwy, Wales

53°16′48″N 3°49′52″W / 53.280°N 3.831°W / 53.280; -3.831Grid referenceSH770784Managed byTransport for Wales RailPlatforms2Other informationStation codeCNWClassificationDfT category F2HistoryOpened1848Original companyChester and Holyhead RailwayPre-groupingLondon and North Western RailwayPost-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayKey dates1 May 1848Opened as Conway14 February 1966Closed29 June 1987Reopened as Conwy6 July 2020Temporarily closed29 March 2021ReopenedPassengers2018/19

59,0302019/20

57,4862020/21

3,2802021/22

28,0382022/23

52,568

Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Conwy railway station serves the town of Conwy, north Wales, and is located on the North Wales Main Line, between Crewe and Holyhead. It is served by Transport for Wales, on services from Holyhead to South Wales and Birmingham International.

History

The station was opened by the Chester and Holyhead Railway on 1 May 1848; it was closed as part of the Beeching cuts on 14 February 1966 but reopened on 29 June 1987^[1] as a request stop. Upon reopening, the Welsh spelling Conwy was adopted, in contrast to the Anglicised form Conway used until closure in 1966.^[1]

The original station had substantial decorated mock-Tudor style buildings on both sides (being sited within the town walls), along with canopies and a footbridge - this was however demolished soon after closure and no trace now remains.^[2] The modern 1987 replacement has only basic amenities, no ticket office and shorter platforms.

From 6 July 2020, trains did not call at the station due to the short platform and the inability to maintain social distancing between passengers and the guard when opening the train door.^[3] A limited service had returned by 29 March 2021.^[4]

Facilities

The station platforms can only fully accommodate 2 coaches. Services operated by longer DMUs that call at this station do so under 'local door operation', whereby passengers may only board or alight through one door of the train, usually the leading door of the second coach. This avoids obvious safety risks presented by passengers alighting from doors that are not adjacent to the platform. Each platform has an open sided shelter for waiting passengers, a customer help point, timetable poster boards and digital CIS displays. There is no ticketing provision and the station is unmanned - tickets must be bought on the train or in advance of travel. Step-free access is available (via ramps) to both sides.^[5]

Services

Conwy is served only by Transport for Wales Rail services.

The Monday to Friday service pattern is as follows:

Westbound:

11 trains per day run to Holyhead

Eastbound:

First train of the day runs to Manchester Airport via Warrington Bank Quay
5tpd at a 1tp2h frequency run to Birmingham International
2tpd run to Cardiff Central
1tpd in the evening terminates at Shrewsbury
2tpd in the evenings run to Crewe
1tpd in the evening terminates at Birmingham New Street.

Service frequency varies between being 1 train per hour (tph), 1 train per 2 hours and 1 train per 3 hours.

On Saturdays there are 10 trains per day to Holyhead, and the Manchester Airport service does not run.

Eastbound services run to Birmingham and Cardiff via Chester and Shrewsbury.^[6]^[7]

The Sunday service is infrequent (particularly in winter), with large gaps between trains. 9 services on a Sunday run to Holyhead, with 6 eastbound services. The first eastbound Sunday service runs to Manchester Piccadilly, the second Cardiff Central, with a five hour gap before the remaining 4 services run to Crewe.

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Penmaenmawr		Transport for Wales North Wales Main Line		Llandudno Junction

Gallery

Conwy railway station in May 2005
View of the station in March 2008
The station in 1962
View westward, towards Bangor and Holyhead in 1962
Conwy railway station in 1848

References

^ ^a ^b Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
^ Disused Stations - Conway Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 30 May 2017
^ "Covid-19 timetable from 29 March 2021".
^ "Covid-19 timetable from 29 March 2021".
^ Conwy station facilities National Rail Enquiries
^ "Train times | Holyhead - Cardiff Central | 10 December 2023 - 01 June 2024" (PDF). Transport for Wales. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
^ "National Rail Timetable 077 | Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Birmingham and Crewe to Chester, Llandudno, Bangor, Holyhead and Dublin.pdf" (PDF). Network Rail.