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Sugar Loaf railway station

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Sugar Loaf

Welsh: Dinas y Bwlch
National Rail
Sugar Loaf station in April 2017
General information
LocationNear Sugar Loaf Mountain, Llandovery, Powys
Wales
Coordinates52°04′55″N 3°41′13″W / 52.082°N 3.687°W / 52.082; -3.687
Grid referenceSN844438
ManagerTransport for Wales
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeSUG[1]
ClassificationDfT category F2
Key dates
1868Opened
1965Closed
1984Reopened
6 July 2020Temporarily closed
21 August 2021Reopened
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 0
2021/22Increase 76
2022/23Increase 398
2023/24Increase 992
2024/25Decrease 842
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Sugar Loaf railway station is a railway station in Powys, Wales, and is on the Heart of Wales Line, between Cynghordy and Llanwrtyd, 50 miles 65 chains (81.8 km) from Craven Arms South Junction, where the line joins the Welsh Marches line. It is the most geographically remote station in Wales, northeast of a small but prominent knoll known as Sugar Loaf, around which the A483 road loops.[2]

History

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The line through here was opened by the Central Wales Extension Railway on 8 October 1868[3] and the station opened in 1989,[4] originally known as Sugar Loaf Summit and later as Sugar Loaf Halt (although it was only used by railway workers).[4] It was originally built to serve a number of cottages occupied by railway workers (such as signalmen and track gangers).[5] The children of the workers travelled by train to school in Llanwrtyd Wells.[6]

The passing loop and associated Sugar Loaf Summit signal box at the south end of the platform were removed,[7] and the station closed to passengers in 1965 but the station subsequently reopened to traffic in 1984,[8] albeit on Sundays only; it was not until 1995 that it gained a daily service, all year round.[9] It was renamed from Sugar Loaf Halt to its current name in 1989.[4]

Between 6 July 2020 and 21 August 2021, trains did not call at the station due to the short platform and the inability to maintain social distancing for COVID-19 between passengers and the guard when opening the train door.[10]

Facilities

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The station has basic amenities only - a waiting shelter and timetable poster boards - although it has had a digital CIS display fitted. There is no step-free access available, due to the station entrance being down some steps from the nearest road (the A483) along a narrow path and in a cutting.[11] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

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The station sees very few passengers; in 2010/2011 an estimated 84 passengers used the station and in 2014 it was reported that the station was averaging five passengers per month.[8] In 2017/2018, it increased its passenger usage by nearly 710% from the previous year, taking it to as many visitors in the year as the previous 17 years combined. Its low usage seemed to make it a popular attraction.[12] In 2020, with rail passenger numbers in general affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the station saw 156 passengers, followed by zero the following year.[13]

This station is a request stop used mainly by trekkers and cyclists, since it is the nearest stop to the Sugar Loaf vantage point.[14][6]

Passenger volume at Sugar Loaf[15]
2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Entries and exits 122 59 67 111 120 106 84 120 144 240 110 132 228 1,846 708 156 0 76 398 992 842

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

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All trains serving the station are operated by Transport for Wales. There are five trains a day in each direction (towards Swansea and Shrewsbury) from Monday to Saturday, and two services on Sundays.[16] Being a request stop, passengers have to give a hand signal to the approaching train driver to board or notify the guard when they board that they wish to alight from the train there.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Cynghordy   Transport for Wales
Heart of Wales Line		   Llanwrtyd

References

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  1. ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Sugar Loaf (Map). 1:25,000. OS Explorer. Cartography by Ordnance Survey. Streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Wills 2014, p. 95.
  4. 1 2 3 Wills 2014, p. 94.
  5. ↑ "Llandeilo History - Heart of Wales Railway". www.llandeilo.org. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Sugar Loaf Halt is Wales' quietest station, Arriva says". BBC. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Caton 2018, pp. 134–7.
  8. 1 2 "Britain's forgotten railway stations". The Daily Telegraph. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Quick 2023, p. 438.
  10. ↑ "Covid-19 timetable from 29 March 2021 | Transport for Wales". 17 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Sugar Loaf station facilitiesNational Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 28 January 2017
  12. ↑ Shuttleworth, Peter (11 December 2018). "Why Wales' quietest station, Sugar Loaf, got busier". BBC Wales News.
  13. ↑ "Railway: Why one remote station lost 90% of its passengers". BBC News. 5 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Sugar Loaf". Heart of Wales Line. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Table 130 National Rail timetable, December 2025

Bibliography

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