Caernarvon railway station was a station on the former

Bangor and Carnarvon Railway The Bangor and Carnarvon Railway was a railway company promoted to build a branch railway connecting Caernarfon with the main line at Bangor, in north-west Wales. It opened in 1852 as far as Port Dinorwic (now Y Felinheli) and was extended to ...

between

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

, Gwynedd and

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( cy, Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's f ...

near Bangor. The station was closed to all traffic in January 1972. The station has since been demolished and the site redeveloped.

History

The station, which opened on 1 July 1852, was named "Carnarvon".Butt (1995), page 54 The town was originally the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of the branch line from Menai bridge; later becoming part of the

Carnarvonshire Railway The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station (terminus of the Bangor and Caernarvon Railway line from Bangor) with Afon Wen. History The Carnarvonshire Railway was absorbed into the LNWR in 1869. At the gro ...

. In 1864 the

Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway The Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway, built under the ''Caernarvon and Llanberis Railway Act 1864'', was an eight-mile branch line from the Carnarvonshire Railway running from to , via (for Llanrug), , and . History The Carnarvon and Llanberis ...

extended the branch line from Carnarvon station to

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking ...

. A tunnel was constructed just south of the station to carry the new line. The tunnel was reopened in 1995 as a road tunnel. By 1871 all three original companies were absorbed into the London and North Western Railway. The station was renamed "Caernarvon" on 27 March 1926. In 1964 the lines to Afon Wen and Llanberis were closed under the Beeching Axe. On 5 January 1970, Caernarvon was closed to all services.Butt (1995), page 51 However following a fire that destroyed the

Britannia Bridge Britannia Bridge ( cy, Pont Britannia) is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by the noted railway engineer Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of w ...

over the Menai Straits on 23 May 1970, the branch and goods yard were temporarily reopened for freight traffic until 30 January 1972. The branch line to Caernarvon station was finally closed with the resumption of rail services to

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

and Holyhead in February 1972. The track was removed and the station completely demolished. A

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqu ...

store now occupies the site, having been built under Safeway in the late 80's and opened by the mayor of Caernarfon, and then absorbed into Morrisons after they acquired Safeway in 2004.

Present

The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) now operates from Caernarfon railway station which uses the original trackbed of the Carnarvonshire Railway just south of the tunnel on St Helen's Road beneath the high retaining walls of Segontium Terrace. Caernarfon Council have a longer-term plan to reinstate the rail transport link to Bangor. After speculation that the WHR would at some point in time extended itself to Bangor, owner the Ffestiniog Railway wrote to the council in January 2014 to confirm that they would not themselves be supportive of such a scheme in narrow gauge, but supported the reconnection of the town to the national rail network using standard gauge.

References

Sources

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Further material

External links

The station site on a navigable OS Map, via ''National Library of Scotland''

The station and line, via ''Rail Map Online''

The line BCN with mileages, via ''Railway Codes''

Images of Caernarfon stations, via ''Yahoo''

The station and line, via ''LNWR Society''

Caernarfon station, via ''Disused Stations''

Caernarfon Town Line, via ''Disused Stations''

By DMU from Pwllheli to Amlwch, via ''Huntley Archives''
{{Closed stations Gwynedd Beeching closures in Wales Disused railway stations in Gwynedd History of Caernarfonshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1970 Former London and North Western Railway stations Caernarfon 1852 establishments in Wales