Hawarden Bridge railway station is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
near
Shotton, Flintshire
Shotton is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, joined with Connah's Quay, near the border with England. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Chester and can be reached by road f ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. It is situated on the
Borderlands Line north of
Wrexham Central, on the north side of
Hawarden Bridge
Hawarden Bridge (; cy, Pont Penarlâg) is a railway bridge over the River Dee, near Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (which later became the Great Central Railway), as part of t ...
over the
River Dee. The station and all trains serving it are operated by
Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...
.
History
The station was opened by the
LNER LNER may refer to:
* London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947
* London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018
* Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
on 22 September 1924 as ''Hawarden Bridge Halt'', adjacent to the
John Summers steelworks.
The station was renamed as ''Hawarden Bridge'' in 1954 when it was upgraded.
The station was considerably busier in times past, being the nearest to the triangular junction with the former line to and Mickle Trafford as well as the steel plant. The Chester line closed to passengers in September 1968, but remained open for freight until June 1992 (it is now a footpath and cycleway) whilst the shutdown of much of the works in 1980 (with the loss of 6,000 jobs) led to a significant decline in use of the station.
The
signal box to the north of Dee Marsh Junction remains in use to control access to the remnants of the former Shotwick Sidings for the dispatch of finished steel products. The sidings were once used by heavy trains of iron ore from Bidston Dock in Birkenhead bound for the sidings Shotwick. An industrial park and rail-connected paper mill now occupy part of the old Shotton works site, whilst the rolling mill there is still operational receiving steel coil for processing from South Wales by rail. The signal box also acts as the 'fringe' to the Merseyside
Integrated Electronic Control Centre at Sandhills.
It is situated immediately to the north of the
Hawarden Bridge
Hawarden Bridge (; cy, Pont Penarlâg) is a railway bridge over the River Dee, near Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (which later became the Great Central Railway), as part of t ...
railway swing bridge that last opened in 1960.
Facilities
The station is unmanned and only has basic amenities (CIS screens, waiting shelters and timetable poster boards on each platform). Step-free access is available to both platforms, but transfer between them requires the use of a
barrow crossing
There are around 6,000 level crossings in the United Kingdom, of which about 1,500 are public highway crossings. This number is gradually being reduced as the risk of accidents at level crossings is considered high. The director of the UK Rail ...
.
The Chester Millennium Greenway cycle route runs adjacent to the station and provides access to the northbound platform.
The route also connects the station to
Shotton.
The station's name in
Welsh is ''Pont Penarlâg''. The name is announced on Welsh station announcements, however, despite the station being located in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, it is not displayed on the platform signage.
Services
The station sees an infrequent service, with the only trains calling during the morning and evening peak periods towards Wrexham Central southbound and
Bidston northbound. There are four southbound and three northbound trains a day Monday to Saturday.
In May 2013, Arriva Trains Wales introduced a Sunday service at the station. On a Sunday, all passenger services (every 90 minutes) on the
Borderlands Line will stop, on request.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
{{Flintshire railway stations
Railway stations in Flintshire
DfT Category F2 stations
Former London and North Eastern Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1924
Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail
Railway request stops in Great Britain