Llandudno railway station

Llandudno
Station entrance
General information
Location	Llandudno, Conwy County Borough Wales
Coordinates	53.321°N 3.827°W / 53.321; -3.827
Grid reference	SH783819
Managed by	Transport for Wales Rail
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	LLD
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	October 1858
Passengers
2019/20	0.279 million
2020/21	65,208
2021/22	0.240 million
2022/23	0.322 million
2023/24	0.397 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Llandudno railway station serves the seaside town of Llandudno in North Wales. It is the terminus of a 3 miles (4.8 km) long branch line from Llandudno Junction on the North Wales Coast Line, between Crewe and Holyhead. The station is managed by Transport for Wales Rail, who operate all trains serving it. Llandudno Victoria station, the lower terminus of the Great Orme Tramway, is a 15-minute walk from the main station.

History

London Midland & Scottish Railway monogram

Llandudno railway station pictured in 1894

The first station and the Llandudno branch line was constructed by the St. George's Harbour and Railway Company and opened on 1 October 1858. The trains at first ran to and from Conwy station until the completion of Llandudno Junction station. The line was soon absorbed by the London and North Western Railway, which in turn became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Vaughan Street in Llandudno was also laid out in 1858 as the station approach road.

As the first station had become inadequate to cope with increasing usage, the present Llandudno station buildings and frontage, together with five platforms and an extensive glass roof, were erected in 1892; the station still has the Victorian carriage road between the two principal platforms. Platforms 4 and 5 had been disused since 1978, with the tracks to the platforms being disconnected and eventually dismantled in 2012. The southernmost half of the glass roof was removed some decades ago and the remainder was substantially cut back again in 1990. Half of the station frontage (including the former waiting and refreshment rooms), which had been disused for many years, was demolished in May 2009. The station retains its semaphore signalling and manual signal box.

Virgin Trains West Coast previously ran a direct afternoon service to London Euston, but this service was discontinued at the December 2008 timetable change; it now terminates at Chester instead. However, Avanti West Coast intend to reintroduce this service but only in the summer months.[1]

Facilities

Signal Box

In the 2000s, plans were unveiled for the transformation of the station into a Transport Interchange, which would involve the demolition of the disused part of the frontage and the introduction of new passenger facilities. Following the provision of funding, reconstruction began in 2013 and the £5.2 million scheme was completed in the summer of 2014.[2] The work included a 130-space car park (on the site of the former platforms 4 and 5), a glazed concourse, a bus interchange, new taxi rank, and a shop/cafe. There are also a new entrance and improvements to the platforms.

The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis. A self-service ticket machine is also provided for use and for collecting advance purchase tickets. There are also toilets and a waiting room on the concourse. Train running information is provided by digital information screens, posters and automated announcements. Step-free access is available to all platforms.[3]

Services

All services at Llandudno station are operated by Transport for Wales Rail.[4]

The standard daily service is:

• An hourly service to Manchester Piccadilly via Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Flint, Chester and Warrington. Two daily services on this route (including the last train each evening) run to Crewe rather than Manchester and certain trains are extended through to Manchester Airport
• An hourly shuttle (with some afternoon gaps) to Llandudno Junction, which connects with services to Bangor, Holyhead, Birmingham New Street, London Euston and South Wales
• One weekday direct return service to Cardiff Central via Wrexham General without any change being required at Llandudno Junction, plus two more from Birmingham International
• Four trains per day along the Conwy Valley line, serving Llanrwst, Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

On Sundays, there is the following service:

• An approximately half-hourly shuttle service to Llandudno Junction until mid-evening, plus a single later trip;
• Three trains a day run down the Conwy Valley line to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		Transport for Wales Rail Conwy Valley Line		Deganwy
		Transport for Wales Rail North Wales Coast Line

References

1. West Coast Partnership franchise improvements map Department for Transport; 14 August 2019.
2. "Llandudno's new £5.2m railway station"North Wales Daily Post article 23 July 2014; Retrieved 13 January 2017
3. Llandudno station facilities National Rail Enquiries
4. "Timetables". Transport for Wales. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 114-120. ISBN 9781906008871. OCLC 668198724.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Rhyl to Bangor. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 64-70. ISBN 9781908174154. OCLC 859594415.
• Allen, David (21 October – 3 November 1998). "Seaside signalling in North Wales". RAIL. No. 342. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 40–42. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.

External links

• Train times and station information for Llandudno railway station from National Rail
• Llandudno and North Wales Train Services 1947 and 2003
• Virgin Trains restore through London to Llandudno Service