Abergele & Pensarn railway station

Abergele & Pensarn railway station on the North Wales Coast Line serves the town of Abergele. It is located in the coastal suburb of Pensarn.

Abergele & Pensarn Welsh: Abergele a Phen-sarn
Location	Abergele, Conwy Wales
Coordinates	53.295°N 3.583°W
Grid reference	SH946787
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	AGL
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Chester and Holyhead Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Key dates
1 May 1848	Opened as Abergele
?[1]	Renamed
Passengers
2015/16	70,932
2016/17	68,632
2017/18	70,114
2018/19	73,640
2019/20	76,000
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Opened as Abergele by the Chester and Holyhead Railway on 1 May 1848,[1] the 'and Pensarn' suffix was believed to have been added when the station was substantially rebuilt in 1883. It became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The station in 1962

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways although Intercity Sector trains passed through on their way from London Euston and the Midlands to Holyhead.

The Privatisation of British Rail led to services being provided by Wales and Borders until 2003, Arriva Trains Wales until 2018, and in the present day, Transport for Wales.

Abergele signal box closed on 24 March 2018 along with seven others during Phase 1 of North Wales Coast Resignalling.

The station had been the location of two LMS caravans in 1935 and 1936 followed by three caravans from 1937 to 1939. Nine camping coaches were positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1954 to 1971 (eight only in 1954).[2]

It was originally served by loops off the main line in both directions, but the eastbound one was removed in the late 1980s and the main line realigned to pass through the platform. However the westbound one remained in use until early 2017 - it was decommissioned over the weekend of 8/9 January. The loop has now been lifted and the platform extended out to reach the remaining main line. A replacement bus service was provided to Rhyl whilst the work was in progress, as westbound trains were not to call until the work was completed.[3] The platform reopened to traffic on 12 March 2017.[4] As part of the same modernisation scheme, the signal box here was abolished in March 2018, when new colour light signalling was commissioned between Colwyn Bay and Shotton.

Abergele train disaster

On 20 August 1868,[5] the Irish Mail collided with some runaway goods wagons which had been left on the running line between Abergele and Pensarn & Llandulas stations. The accident was, at the time, the worst railway disaster in Britain.

Facilities

The station is now unstaffed and intending passengers must purchase tickets prior to travel or from the conductor on the train. The former ticket office next to platform 2 and the waiting rooms on each side still stand, but are no longer in rail use - waiting shelters are provided for passengers on each platform. Train running information is offered via CIS screens, customer help points and timetable poster boards, along with a payphone on platform 2. Step-free access is available to both platforms via ramps from the road bridge linking them.[6]

Services

The station is served by an hourly service in each direction (weekdays) on the Manchester to Llandudno route operated by Transport for Wales and calling at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Warrington Bank Quay, Runcorn East, Frodsham, Helsby, Chester, Shotton, Flint, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction, Deganwy and Llandudno.[7] A few services between Crewe/Birmingham International/Cardiff Central and Holyhead also call at peak periods and in the late evening.

On Sundays, the service is provided by Holyhead to Crewe trains, which call hourly each way from late afternoon (only certain trains call during the morning & early afternoon, resulting in sizeable gaps in the timetable).

References

1. Butt 1995, p. 12.
2. McRae 1997, pp. 22 & 50-58.
3. Abergele & Pensarn North Cheshire Rail Users Group website article; Retrieved 11 January 2017
4. "Abergele and Pensarn station platform now open following work on £50m North Wales Railway Upgrade Project" Network Rail Media Centre; Retrieved 13 June 2017
5. Railway Inspectorate Report to the Board of Trade for the Abergele AccidentRailways Archive; Retrieved 4 March 2016.
6. Abergele and Pensarn station facilities National Rail Enquiries
7. GB eNRT May 2017 Edition, Table 81

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.

Further reading

• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2012). Rhyl to Bangor. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 15-21. ISBN 9781908174154. OCLC 859594415.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

Media related to Abergele and Pensarn railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Abergele & Pensarn railway station from National Rail
• Abergele and Pensarn station on navigable O.S. map