Llandudno Junction railway station

Llandudno Junction Welsh: Cyffordd Llandudno
Llandudno Junction railway station (March 2018)
General information
Location	Llandudno Junction, Conwy County Borough Wales
Coordinates	53.284°N 3.809°W / 53.284; -3.809
Grid reference	SH794778
Managed by	Transport for Wales Rail
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	LLJ
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Original company	Chester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 October 1858 (1858-10-01)	First station opened
16 June 1863	Conwy Valley Line opened
1 October 1897	Present station opened
Passengers
2019/20	0.301 million
Interchange	117,672
2020/21	75,342
Interchange	20,962
2021/22	0.265 million
Interchange	87,916
2022/23	0.297 million
Interchange	113,860
2023/24	0.353 million
Interchange	140,972
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Llandudno Junction (Welsh: Cyffordd Llandudno) is a station serving the village of Llandudno Junction on the North Wales Main Line between Crewe and Holyhead. The station is managed by Transport for Wales Rail, although Avanti West Coast services also stop there. It is a junction for trains to Llandudno and the Conwy Valley line.

History

The original station (located to the west of the current station) was opened on 1 October 1858 and served the branch line to Llandudno. Built by the St. George's Harbour and Railway Company in 1858, this branch line heads north through Deganwy before terminating in the town. Before the completion of the junction station, the branch line trains from Llandudno ran through to Conwy.

This was followed by the opening of a second branch line in 1863 – the Conwy Valley Line – which headed south and was built by the Conway and Llanrwst Railway, and became part of the LNWR in 1867. It follows the valley of the River Conwy to Llanrwst (where it originally terminated) and Betws-y-Coed (a later terminus in 1869), then follows the Lledr Valley and a two mile long tunnel to terminate at Blaenau Ffestiniog, where passengers can join the Ffestiniog Railway.

Initially the Conwy Valley line ran into a separate platform on the south side of the station, and a refreshment room was built in 1864. But more space was needed to cope with both main line and branch-line traffic, and on 1 October 1897 the present station was opened on a much larger site, the two island platforms offering six through lines with two bays at each end (a total of four through platforms and four bay platforms). The opening of the new station allowed the demolition of the former station, but also entailed a diverting of the Conwy Valley branch, which now joined the main line some half a mile further east. The old formation was used to store locomotives.

Three of the platforms on the southern side (both bays and the down loop) were taken out of use in 1968 when the easternmost of the two signal boxes was closed and the track layout altered. In 1983 the branch junction was again moved slightly eastwards to allow a new freight terminal (now disused) to be built to replace the original goods yard and another at nearby Colwyn Bay that had been closed before the start of the A55 road widening scheme the previous year.

The 1985-built Llandudno Junction signal box

The station was also remodelled once more and resignalled at this time, and in 1985 a new power signal box was commissioned at the western end, which now controls the station area and junctions along with the main line between Colwyn Bay and Conwy and the northern end of the Conwy Valley branch (using the electric token system). The token machine for the branch is located at the station rather than in the signal box for operational convenience, allowing drivers to collect or return their token (with the cooperation of the signaller) whilst station work is undertaken, rather than having to make an additional stop at the box to make the exchange.

The station was also formerly the site of Llandudno Junction TMD, a motive power depot which closed in 1966. It was given the code 7A by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which was altered to 6G by British Railways in March 1952. This had been located just south east of the station, and its site, together with the former adjoining goods yard, now have been redeveloped, but the new flyover road across the site bears the name 6G.

Layout

Llandudno Junction and branches
North Wales Coast Line to Chester Conwy Valley line to Blaenau Ffestiniog Llandudno Junction Branch to Deganwy and Llandudno North Wales Coast Line to Holyhead

Station entrance and car park

The station currently has four operational platforms:

• Platform 1 is used by eastbound trains to Chester, Crewe, Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, London Euston and Blaenau Ffestiniog. It is also signalled for use by trains to Llandudno.
• Platform 2 is a bay platform used by the hourly shuttle service to Llandudno. It is also used for stabling trains overnight.
• Platform 3 is a bidirectional platform which can be used by all services. It is mainly used for westbound trains, but at busy periods can be used for eastbound trains as well.
• Platform 4 is used by services to Bangor, Holyhead and Llandudno. It is also signalled for trains to Blaenau Ffestiniog (the first branch train of the day often leaves from here).

A bus shelter in the station car park is numbered as platform 5, and is used for local bus services as well as rail replacement services when the railway is closed for engineering work.

Facilities

The station is staffed throughout the day, with the ticket office on platforms 1 and 3. Self-service ticket machines are also available and for collecting pre-paid/advance purchase tickets. Other facilities on offer (all on platforms 1–3) include a waiting room, toilets, a cafe and public telephone. Platform 4 has a canopy and customer help point only. Train running information is provided by poster boards, digital information screens and automated announcements. Step-free access is available from the station entrance to all platforms via lifts integrated into the main footbridge that links them.

Services

A Virgin Trains Class 221 Super Voyager at platform 3, bound for Holyhead

A Class 175, on a North Wales Coast Line service, passes a Class 150 on the Conwy Valley Line route

The station is served by two train operating companies:

Transport for Wales Rail

Transport for Wales Rail operates the following routes:

• An hourly service between Holyhead, Bangor, Chester, Shrewsbury and Wrexham General; services continue alternately to Birmingham International or Cardiff Central. Of these, one return journey each weekday to Cardiff is classified as a limited-stop Premier Service. Some morning and late evening trains run to/from Crewe.
• An hourly service between Llandudno, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. A few shuttle services to Llandudno also operate at certain times of day; this runs half-hourly on Sundays.
• Six trains per day each way on the Conwy Valley Line to Blaenau Ffestiniog, with four on Sundays.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast operates four services each way to London Euston, plus a northbound only train between London and Bangor. They also operate two services per day each way between Crewe and Holyhead, plus two that run northbound only between Crewe and Bangor; one of these extends to Holyhead. One northbound service from Crewe to Holyhead starts from Birmingham New Street.

On Saturdays, there are three southbound services per day to London Euston, as well as a daily southbound service which runs between Crewe and Holyhead, while northbound, there are two trains per day to Holyhead from London Euston and two trains to Holyhead from Crewe, plus another northbound service from Crewe which terminates here.

On Sundays, are also three trains each way to London Euston, with one northbound train from Crewe to Holyhead.

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Glan Conwy		Transport for Wales Conwy Valley line		Deganwy
Colwyn Bay		Transport for Wales Premier Service		Bangor
Colwyn Bay		Transport for Wales North Wales Coast Line		Conwy
				Deganwy
		Avanti West Coast London Euston–Holyhead		Bangor

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 101-109. ISBN 9781906008871. OCLC 668198724.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Rhyl to Bangor. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 41-57. ISBN 9781908174154. OCLC 859594415.
• Rear, W.G. (1991). The Conwy Valley Line. Foxline Publishing.

External links

• Train times and station information for Llandudno Junction railway station from National Rail
• Greatorme.org.uk, Llandudno Junction and North Wales Train Services 1947 and 2003.
• 6G Llandudno Junction, Loco shed 6G