Prestatyn railway station on the
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire ...
serves the town of
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085,
History Prehistory
There is evidence that th ...
in
North Wales.
The station was built on the
Chester and Holyhead Railway
The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of Government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to ...
(CHR) line and opened on 1 May 1848. The coming of the railway is credited with bringing large numbers of tourists and prosperity to the town. When the CHR was acquired by the
London & North Western Railway
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 Lon ...
(LNWR), further expansion occurred at Prestatyn and the station became a junction for a
branch line to Dyserth. In the 1890s, the LNWR built the current station.
Passenger numbers dipped significantly during the mid 20th century. After
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
tried to close the station in the 1960s, the line and station were rationalised but remained operational. In 1979, the station was renovated. It is managed by
Transport for Wales and served by their services from , and
Manchester to
Holyhead and
Llandudno; other services are provided by
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
to
London Euston.
History
19th century
Prestatyn station was built by the
Chester and Holyhead Railway
The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of Government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to ...
(CHR) on its line from
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
to the port of
Holyhead on
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 ...
.
The route, engineered by
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father. R ...
, ran mainly along the coastline of North Wales. A contract for the station's construction was awarded to the Hinson Brothers.
On 1 May 1848, Prestatyn's first station opened when the CHR opened its line through to
Bangor. It comprised a single
slate-roofed two-storey brick building and adjacent shed on its westbound platform. The site is roughly 100 meters to the east of the present station.
The station was the junction for a branch line to
Dyserth opened by the LNWR in 1869 and intended for mineral traffic. In 1905, a passenger service was started that lasted until 1930, when it was withdrawn by the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The line remained open to serve a quarry until its closure in 1973. Since then, much of the former line has been reused as a
footpath.
On 1 January 1859, the
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire ...
and its stations became a part on the
London & North Western Railway
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 Lon ...
(LNWR), who had acquired the CHR.
The LNWR placed a great emphasis on its services between London and Ireland via the ferries at Holyhead. Traffic expanded considerably during the late 1800s and the company began a major expansion.
In 1897 the tracks through the town were quadrupled and the current station was constructed.
The new station had prefabricated
modular buildings manufactured by the LNWR at their works in
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
.
Three prefabricated buildings were constructed, all 3.4 meters wide and 2 meters long. Timber
trestle
ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...
s and frames supported the prefabricated units and 600mm thick concrete slabs were used for parts of the foundations to support brick footings, fireplaces and chimneys.
One of the 1890s buildings is still standing on what was the line towards Chester. It had timber beam
canopies along the south and west sides, three internal rooms with fireplaces and toilet facilities.
Two similar structures have since been demolished, one having been located on the north-westerly line (towards Holyhead) and the third being built upon yet another platform. On 28 February 1897, the new station was opened and the old station was closed.
20th century
In 1901, further alterations to the station layout became necessary; the work was carried out by contractors Parnell & Son.
The former 'up' platform was redeveloped into an island platform between the railway tracks. Another timber canopy was installed on the station building's north side.
Prestatyn station suffered from diminishing passenger numbers after the
Second World War. It was threatened with closure during
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...
in the 1960s but objections from the community led to it being reprieved.
The station and line were then
rationalised, the four tracks were cut to two in the 1980s, and the
island platform became the only one to remain in use.
In 1979, the station was rebuilt in a style sympathetic to the original structure. Two of the three prefabricated buildings were demolished. In January 1997, the remaining station buildings were given Grade II
listed building status.
[“Prestatyn Station.”](_blank)
‘’engineering-timelines.com’’, Retrieved: 9 July 2018.
In autumn 2011, Prestatyn was the first of six stations in Wales to receive an access footbridge and lift, repaved accessible platforms, in
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
's 'Access for All’ programme. In 2012, the station buildings were refurbished. During the first half of 2018, new signalling systems were installed along the North Wales Coast Line leading to the closure of the nearby
signal box when control was centralised to the
Wales Rail Operating Centre.
[Darlington, Paul]
“Ushering in a new era: North Wales Railway Upgrade Project.”
‘’Rail Engineer’’, 28 June 2018.
Facilities
The station ticket office is staffed seven days a week. A self-service ticket machine is provided for use outside opening hours and collecting pre-paid tickets. Live train running information is via digital
passenger information displays.
Services
The hourly Manchester to Llandudno and Birmingham International/Cardiff to Holyhead services call here, giving the station two trains each hour to Chester and Llandudno Junction. On weekdays, Avanti West Coast operate five trains each way per day between Crewe and Holyhead, one of which runs only to Bangor. On Saturdays there is one train each way per day between London Euston and Holyhead, with two trains each way from Crewe to Holyhead, one of which continues to Birmingham New Street. A few early morning and late night trains run to/from Crewe, rather than Cardiff or Birmingham.
On Sundays, there is an hourly service each way from mid-morning (to Holyhead westbound and Crewe eastbound) and two trains to/from Manchester. There are three trains per day each way between Crewe and Holyhead, one of which continues to London Euston.
Awards
Keep Wales Tidy - Best Kept Staffed Station Award (2017)
Gallery
Image:Silver sandcastle sculpture, Prestatyn railway station (geograph 4031662).jpg, Sculpture at the station entrance by Denis O'Connor Sculpture Works
Image:Prestatyn signal box (geograph 4031624).jpg, Prestatyn signal box
Image:Footbridge ramp, Prestatyn railway station (geograph 4031666).jpg, Part of the new footbridge
Image:Platform 1, Prestatyn railway station (geograph 4031654).jpg, On the platform
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{Denbighshire railway stations
Railway stations in Denbighshire
DfT Category D stations
Former London and North Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1897
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1897
Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail
Railway stations served by Avanti West Coast
Prestatyn