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Newtown railway station (Wales)

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Newtown
General information
Other namesWelsh: Y Drenewydd
LocationPowys
Managed byArriva Trains Wales
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeNWT
History
Original companyOswestry and Newtown Railway
Pre-groupingCambrian Railways
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway

Newtown railway station (Welsh: Y Drenewydd) is a railway station serving Newtown in Powys, Wales.

History

Newtown was the last major station before Moat Lane Junction where the Mid-Wales Railway, to Llanidloes, Rhayader, Builth Road and on to Cardiff (with a branch to Brecon), diverged from the Cambrian Railways main line (today's Cambrian Line) to Machynlleth and Aberystwyth.

The station was the eastern terminus of the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway opened by the Countess of Londonderry at Machynlleth station on 3 January 1863.[1] It was also originally served by the (now mostly defunct) Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (opened in 1859 and initially isolated from the rest of the Welsh railway system) and the Oswestry and Newtown Railway (opened in 1861). All were subsequently subsumed into the Cambrian by 1865.

Facilities

The station currently has two through platforms, which are used separately for trains in either direction. The station is usually used as one of the passing points for trains on the Cambrian Line as it is a single track. The station has one west facing bay platform/siding which is periodically used as a storage point for Network Rail's Departmental trains.

There is an Arriva Trains Wales appointed "Station Agent" with full ticket issuing facilities. The building also houses a Grill Restaurant (Station Grill) and a computer training centre.

Services

Trains run from here westwards to Machynlleth and then either Aberystwyth or Pwllheli via Barmouth (most trains convey a portion for both routes) and eastwards to Shrewsbury & Birmingham International. There is a basic two-hourly service each way - on weekdays & Saturdays there are also some additional Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth services during the morning & evenings. On Sundays there is a two-hourly service on the Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth axis, but only a limited service along the coast to/from Pwllheli (three in summer and one in winter).[2]

References

  1. ^ Engineering Timelines - Talerddig CuttingEngineering Timelines; Retrieved 6 May 2016
  2. ^ GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 76 (Network Rail)
Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
Arriva Trains Wales
  Historical railways  
Moat Lane Junction
Line open, station closed
  Cambrian Railways
Oswestry and Newtown Railway
Newtown and Machynlleth Railway
  Abermule
Line open, station closed