Llanfairpwll railway station is a 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, ...

from

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 ...

to , serving the village of

Llanfairpwllgwyngyll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanf ...

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 ...

History

Opened in 1848 it was initially the terminus of the line from Holyhead before the opening of 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 ...

to the mainland in 1850.Jones, Geraint: ''Anglesey Railways'', pages 27–28. Carreg Gwalch, 2005 It suffered a catastrophic fire on 13 November 1865 and had to be completely re-constructed. It was closed in 1966 but reopened in 1970 due to the fire on the

again as the terminus for trains from , with a single wooden platform. It was again closed in 1972 and subsequently reopened again 1973 with both wooden platforms (the only one on the island), which was refurbished in 2017 and the signal box remain from the original configuration, but converted into a gate keeper's box, meaning no junctions or signals are controlled from there, except for gate locking. However, a

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, sidings and

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 lo ...

have disappeared, the latter two under a car park. The station is known for its longer name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, but this is a Victorian contrivance for the benefit of tourists with no basis in historical usage. It comprises the full name of the village, plus local topographical details, plus the name of a neighbouring church etc. The actual longest railway station name in Wales (indeed the UK) is

Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is a railway station that serves Cardiff Airport and the village of Rhoose in southeast Wales. A dedicated shuttle bus connects this station with the airport terminal building. The station is ...

Coronavirus

The railway station officially reopened for service on the 21st of August 2021. Between 8th July 2020 and 21st August 2021 trains did not call at the station; Transport for Wales stated that during the

2019-20 coronavirus 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 identifie ...

the short platform and the inability to maintain social distancing between passengers and the guard when opening the train door was the reason. Trains stopped at the platform, with Class 153,

150 150 may refer to: *150 (number), a natural number *AD 150, a year in the 2nd century AD *150 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *150 Regiment RLC *Combined Task Force 150 See also * List of highways numbered 150 The following highways are numbered ...

158 Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 ''Ab urbe ...

and

175 Year 175 ( CLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 928 ''Ab urbe condita ...

serving the station many times before the closure. People were complaining on Transport for Wales' social media about the decision, and letters and emails were sent to local councillors and Member of the Senedd

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, h ...

, with a petition created on the Welsh Parliament website to support the frustration. Passengers were left with no choice but to travel to Bangor railway station by bus or taxi, which is 5 miles away from Llanfairpwll: there were no rail replacement services serving the station unless engineering works were taking place, but passengers with bicycles had to cycle to other stations to use the trains. On 11 August 2021 it was announced that the station would re-open. Local Member of the Senedd

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 and has no ticket provision - these must be bought on the train or prior to travel. Waiting shelters are provided on each platform and train running details offered via timetable posters and digital information screens (as can be seen from the accompanying station photograph). The station is not listed as accessible for mobility-impaired and wheelchair users on the

National Rail Enquiries National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the pa ...

website. During April 2017, the upgrade of the footbridge was completed as part of Network Rail's Railway Upgrade Plan. The footbridge, which is over 100 years old, was temporarily removed earlier in the year, to undergo a £395,000 upgrade, including specialist refurbishment and repairs at the Centregreat Rail workshop in Cardiff.

Services

Trains used to stop in each direction. These are

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 ...

services between Holyhead and

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 ...

via . These continue to and then either or , though a limited number run to/from instead. On Mondays to Saturdays, 9 services operates to

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 ...

and 13 towards

. On Sundays, services are reduced to 6 towards Holyhead and 7 towards Chester. The station has very short platforms, only long.Permissible line speeds – London North Western Region (North)
Network Rail. Page 104 As a result, only one door on Transport for Wales intercity services is unlocked by the conductor/guard for passengers (Except for the BR classes 150/2 and 153 which occasionally visits Holyhead.)

References

External links

*
Slater's Directory of North & Mid Wales, 1895
' uses all three of the short names for the village – and does not mention the long form.
Video footage of Llanfair PG Railway Station
{{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 1848 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1970 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1972 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1973 Beeching closures in Wales Reopened railway stations in Great Britain Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Railway request stops in Great Britain Llanfairpwllgwyngyll