![Leominster GW 0-4-2T in the Goods yard geograph-2590839-by-Ben-Brooksbank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Leominster_GW_0-4-2T_in_the_Goods_yard_geograph-2590839-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
Leominster railway station lies on the
Welsh Marches Line serving the
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
town of
Leominster
Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...
in England. It is situated north of Hereford.
Leominster has 2 operational platforms for north (Ludlow) and south (Hereford) bound trains respectively, though in the past it had three more to the east of the ones now in use.
History
Developed jointly by the
Great Western Railway and the
LNWR
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the L ...
, it was originally a through station on their joint
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an English railway company that built a standard gauge line between those places. It opened its main line in 1853.
Its natural ally seemed to be the Great Western Railway. With other lines it formed a rout ...
. The GWR then took over two independently financed and developed branch lines, creating a busy junction station:
*
Leominster and Kington Railway
Leominster and Kington Railway was one of four branches which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire.
Opened in August 1857, its peak was during World War II, when it served two US Army hospitals. Declining after the wa ...
to
Kington and
Presteigne
Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with ...
(Platforms 3/4)
*
Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway
The Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway was a single track branch railway line, that ran between a junction near on the West Midland Railway line south of Worcester (present day Cotswold Line) to the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway line ...
to
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
(Platforms 4/5)
Both branches were however closed to passenger traffic by
British Railways in the 1950s – services to Worcester ended in 1952 and to Kington in 1955.
Facilities
The station has a ticket office on platform 1, that is manned on a part-time basis on weekdays only (06:55 – 13:25). There is a self-service ticket machine provided for use outside of these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Platform 2 has a shelter only, whilst there are customer help points, digital information displays and automatic announcements provided to offer train running details on both sides.. Though the footbridge linking the platforms has stairs, level access is provided to each platform.
Service today
Leominster now sees a regular service to important cities. The Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:
*1 train per hour (tph) to
Manchester Piccadilly, calling at
Ludlow
Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...
, , ,
Shrewsbury,
Crewe,
Wilmslow
Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.
History
Toponymy
Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...
and
Stockport.
(certain trains also call at and ).
*1 tph to
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
, calling at
Hereford,
Abergavenny,
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to prov ...
,
Newport,
Cardiff Central,
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
,
Port Talbot Parkway,
Neath,
Swansea,
Llanelli
Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...
and
Pembrey and Burry Port.
**This journey is extended to
Milford Haven every two hours, calling at
Whitland
Whitland (Welsh: , lit. "Old White House", or ''Hendy-gwyn ar Daf'', "Old White House on the River Tâf", from the medieval ''Ty Gwyn ar Daf'') is both a town and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
Description
The Whitland community is ...
,
Clunderwen
Clynderwen ( cy, Clunderwen; ) is a rural linear village and community, historically in Carmarthenshire in Wales, but administered as part of Pembrokeshire. It lies on the A478 Tenby to Cardigan road south of the village of Llandissilio and n ...
(request stop),
Clarbeston Road
Clarbeston ( cy, Treglarbes) is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, east of Haverfordwest. The parish, together with Wiston and Walton East, constitute the community of Wiston. The population was 318 at the 2011 census.
Name
The Eng ...
(request stop),
Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...
and
Johnston (request stop).
On Sundays there is also an hourly service each way, though trains do not start running until mid-morning. This include a departure northbound to and in the late afternoon.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
{{Railway stations served by Transport for Wales
Buildings and structures in Leominster
Railway stations in Herefordshire
DfT Category E stations
Former Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1853
Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail