Valley railway station
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, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Valley railway station - platform 1 (geograph 6103495).jpg , borough =
Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
,
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 ...
, country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name =
Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...
, grid_position = , manager =
Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...
, platforms = 2 , code = VAL , classification = DfT category F2 , years = October 1849 , events = Opened , years1 = 14 February 1966 , events1 = Closed , years2 = 15 March 1982 , events2 = Reopened , years3 = 6 July 2020 , events3 = Temporarily closed , years4 = 21 August 2021 , events4 = Reopened , mpassengers = , footnotes = Passenger statistics from the
Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...
, embedded = Valley railway station ( cy, Gorsaf reilffordd y Dyffryn) 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 pre ...
that serves the village of
Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
in
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 ...
, Wales. It is the last station before the western
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
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, ...
at
Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
. It also serves the nearby
RAF base The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
and
Anglesey Airport Anglesey Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Ynys Môn) is an airport owned by the Isle of Anglesey County Council on land leased from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The airport is situated at Llanfair-yn-Neubwll in Anglesey, Wales. The leased ...
.


History

Opened in 1849, there was a small
goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...
for livestock and a siding for a nearby
corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
. Improvements during the 19th century included extension to the station buildings in 1870 and lengthening of the platforms in 1889. In 1962 transfer sidings were put in place near the station used for the dispatch by rail of spent fuel from the
Wylfa nuclear power station Wylfa nuclear power station ( cy, Atomfa'r Wylfa) is a Magnox nuclear power station undergoing decommissioning. Wylfa is situated west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. Construction of the two 490MW ...
and in 1989 sidings for
turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...
steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
were put in place.Jones, Geraint: ''Anglesey Railways'', page 51. Carreg Gwalch, 2005 The station was one of many small ones on the line closed in February 1966 as a result of the
Beeching Axe 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 ...
, but it reopened to passenger trains in March 1982 after a sustained lobbying campaign by local residents. The westbound platform and waiting room were both demolished after the initial closure, but replacements were constructed prior to reopening; the main buildings on the eastbound side survived during the closure period (along with the platform they stood on) and remain intact to this day. The
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
station signal box remains in use to supervise the B4545
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
here in addition to the aforementioned sidings. On 6 July 2020 trains stopped calling at the station because of the short platform and the inability to maintain
social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...
between passengers and the guard when opening the train door during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On 11 August 2021 it was announced that the station would re-open. Local member of parliament
Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth (born 27 August 1972) is a Welsh journalist and politician serving as the Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn since 2013. Early and personal life Born in Tonteg, ...
criticised the length of the closure stating, ''"I still can't understand why there couldn't have been a way to open it safely before now, and I've made my frustration clear, but better late than never."''


Facilities

The station is unstaffed (like all those between Bangor and Holyhead) and has no ticket machine, so all tickets have to be purchased prior to travel or on the train. Train running information is offered via a telephone, digital CIS displays and timetable posters. Step-free access is provided to both sides via the level crossing, although access for
wheelchairs A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebra ...
and
mobility scooters A mobility scooter is an electric vehicle and mobility aid mostly auxiliary to a power wheelchair but configured like a motorscooter. When motorized they are commonly referred to as a power-operated vehicle/scooter, or electric scooter. Non-mo ...
is not easy from the down platform (2) due to the unpaved path.


Services

There is a two-hourly weekday service in each direction from the station, with a few additional morning and evening departures. Most eastbound trains run to
Wrexham General Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county o ...
,
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
and Birmingham International, although a small number run to either
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 ...
or
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. (Network Rail) The Sunday service is limited (six to Holyhead, seven towards Chester) and runs mainly to/from Crewe with one service to Wrexham and Cardiff. Trains only stop here on request.


References


Further reading

*


External links

{{Anglesey railway stations Railway stations in Anglesey DfT Category F2 stations Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1982 Reopened railway stations in Great Britain Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Beeching closures in Wales Railway request stops in Great Britain Valley, Anglesey 1849 establishments in Wales Grade II listed railway stations in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Anglesey