Swansea railway station

Swansea
General information
Other names	Abertawe
Location	City and County of Swansea
Managed by	Arriva Trains Wales
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	SWA
History
Original company	South Wales Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
19 June 1850 (1850-06-19)	Opened as Swansea High Street
6 May 1968	Renamed Swansea

Swansea railway station is a railway station that serves Swansea, Wales. The station is one of four in the City and County of Swansea and is the fourth busiest in Wales after Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Newport.

History

The station opened in 1850. It was built by the South Wales Railway, which amalgamated with Great Western Railway in 1863, but it was not originally on the South Wales Railway trunk line, planned to connect London with ferries to Ireland, and Swansea passengers had to change at Landore, two miles to the north until at least 1879. The station has been renovated and extended several times in its lifetime. Nothing now remains of the original wooden station with its two platforms and galvanised iron roof.

The majority of the rebuilt station remains intact, although the facilities have been reduced. The platform roof is mostly intact although the Platform 1 canopy has been shortened. Platform 5 is no longer present and neither are the loading bays and fish dock that once stood beyond it. On the other side of the station there was a connecting line bypassing the station and following the edge of what was the dock behind Wind Street and down to the dock and yards alongside former Swansea Victoria. The route alongside the station is now the car park and the remainder of the route down the docks has been obliterated, like most of the dock itself, by redevelopment. Most of the freight yard has also been lifted although some parts remain, and one siding is currently (2009) used to store trains for the morning services.

There was great competition between the different railway companies in the Victorian period. Swansea had seven stations in 1895, built by five different railway companies: High Street, St Thomas, East Dock, Riverside, Victoria, Swansea Bay, and Rutland Street (the town terminus of the Mumbles Railway). Only this station now remains in the city centre.

Services

A First Great Western HST at Swansea station

To the east, trains operate along the South Wales Main Line. Swansea is the western terminus for First Great Western inter-city services to London Paddington that do not terminate at Cardiff Central, with the majority of local train services west of Swansea timed to connect with London services.Arriva Trains Wales provides the Swanline service to Cardiff Central and services to Manchester Piccadilly.

To the west, Arriva Trains Wales trains run along the West Wales Line to Carmarthen and then to Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven or Fishguard Harbour. Swansea is the eastern terminus for a few of the services from West Wales. Services on the Heart of Wales Line between Llanelli and Shrewsbury often start from Swansea.

Facilities

The station is a terminus, at the end of a short branch off the South Wales Main Line and the West Wales Line, so that all through passenger trains must either reverse at Swansea or omit calling there. In practice, almost all passenger services do call there.

The station has four platforms. First Great Western trains from London almost always enter the station standard carriages first, usually at platform 2. The platforms are covered for part of their length.

The manned ticket hall is at the southern end of the platforms. A rail travel office, café, newsagent and automatic ticket machines are in the hall. Automatic ticket barriers are used only when the station is staffed, for safety reasons and due to the inability to handle some ticket types.

Until January 2004, the mail train to London was a regular service from the station.

Platforms

Swansea has four platforms, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Platform 2 is a designated First Great Western platform for services to London Paddington and Carmarthen. Platforms are generally used for the same services but can change if it is not available. The normal pattern is the following.

• Platform 1
  • Arriva Trains Wales:
    • Manchester Piccadilly via Newport, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Crewe from either Carmarthen or Milford Haven
    • Fishguard Harbour via Llanelli, Pembrey and Burry Port, Carmarthen and Clarbeston Road. Some services originate from either Cardiff Central or Cheltenham Spa.
    • Terminating services from Shrewsbury via Ammanford and Pontarddulais.

• Platform 2
  • First Great Western:
    • London Paddington via Cardiff Central, Bristol Parkway, Swindon and Reading.
    • Terminating services from London Paddington via Cardiff Central.

• Platform 3
  • Arriva Trains Wales:
    • Carmarthen via Gowerton from either Cardiff Central or Manchester Piccadilly
    • Milford Haven via Carmarthen from either Cardiff Central or Manchester Piccadilly
    • Terminating services from Ebbw Vale Parkway via Cardiff Central.
  • First Great Western:
    • Terminating services from London Paddington via Cardiff Central.

• Platform 4
  • Arriva Trains Wales & Swanline:
    • Cardiff Central via Neath that start at Swansea.
    • Terminating services from Cardiff Central.
    • Pembroke Dock via Carmarthen

Name of the station

For most of its history the station was known as Swansea High Street to distinguish it from other stations in the area. Following Beeching's cuts in the 1960s and the closure of Swansea Victoria, the name was shortened to Swansea. Today the station is called Abertawe/Swansea on platform signs, the facade, public timetables, by the National Assembly of Wales and by Swansea County Council. However a sign above the station entrance says High Street Station, as does Network Rail route documentation.

Future plans

Swansea station is to be revamped with new facilities including new waiting rooms, bike racks and digital information boards. The first phase is said to be completed by 2011, and the second by 2014, when the whole project for the other stations is said to be completed as well.

Routes

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Llansamlet		Arriva Trains Wales South Wales Main Line		Terminus
		Arriva Trains Wales West Wales Line		Gowerton
Gowerton		Arriva Trains Wales Heart of Wales Line		Terminus
Neath		First Great Western London Paddington-South Wales		Terminus
		First Great Western London Paddington-Carmarthen		Llanelli
		First Great Western London Paddington-Tenby		Llanelli

See also

• Transport in Wales
• List of railway stations in Wales

References

• R.V.J.Butt, (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) ISBN 1 85260 508 1

• A. Jowett, (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Atlantic Publishing.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) ISBN 0 906899 99 0
• Station on navigable O. S. map

• Railways around Swansea factsheet from Swansea Museums Service
• The South Wales Railway factsheet from Swansea Museums Service

External links

• Train times and station information for Swansea railway station from National Rail
• Photographs of the station through the years