Fishguard Harbour railway station
Encyclopedia
Fishguard Harbour railway station serves the port of Fishguard
Harbour, Wales
. It is the terminus of one of the branches of the West Wales Line
from Swansea
.
but privately by Stena Line.
in Ireland
.
took over in December 2003). This started a wide range of exotic stations for the trains to run to and from.
In 2010/2011 a Class 150
unit usually works the daytime service, which is highly unsuitable for such a limited stop service compared to the Class 158
trains Arriva used at one point. The train used on the night time workings to Swansea goes on to work the first Heart Of Wales Line
train of the day, meaning it is likely to be a Class 153
unit.
These extra services are the first regular timetabled services to Fishguard Harbour not provided solely for connection with ferries since local services were withdrawn in 1964. Both boat trains remain, and since the additional services are only run Monday to Saturday are still the only Sunday services.
These extra services, with trains to and from Cardiff and Clarbeston Road, are not quite what was expected when the Welsh Assembly Government announced it would be funding up to £1.4m annually to provide extra services between and Fishguard. This decision has been credited to two teenagers from Moylegrove
who collected a 1,440 signature petition in support of the move. A consultation was held in May/June 2011 on the planned services, but did not result in much ajustment to the times. This initiative has guaranteed funding until 2014, during which a review will be carried out to identify demand and passenger numbers and future funding.
Fishguard
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
Harbour, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is the terminus of one of the branches of the West Wales Line
West Wales Line
The West Wales Lines are a group of railway lines from Swansea through Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, West Wales...
from Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
.
Ownership
The station is unusual in that it is not owned by Network RailNetwork Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
but privately by Stena Line.
Services
There have always been daily services to and from Fishguard Harbour which coincide with the Ferry services to RosslareRosslare
The name Rosslare may refer to:*Rosslare Strand, a village in County Wexford, Ireland* Rosslare Harbour, a village in County Wexford, Ireland*The Rosslare Europort at Rosslare Harbour...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
1949
- Two night-time express trains ran daily to and from
- Eight trains operated Monday to Saturday to and from stopping at , , , and
- One of those trains extended to and from
April 1964 to May 2003
- All the services serving the other stations on the branch were withdrawn on 6 April 1964, leaving the station served by boat trains only. This was during the Beeching AxeBeeching AxeThe Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
period. - Since that date the only scheduled passenger services have been the boat trains.
- In recent years these have been one night service and one day service all year round, despite the summer-only fast ferry. At one stage the night service was formed of an INTERCITY 125InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
train running direct to/from . The daytime service was the same, although perhaps for only part of the year. British Rail, and later First Great WesternFirst Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
and its predecessor Great Western TrainsGreat Western TrainsGreat Western Trains was a UK train company created in the mid 1990s as part of the privatisation of British Rail. It was one of the first two passenger companies to be privatised, passing into private ownership along with South West Trains on 4 February 1996....
all have operated INTERCITY 125InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
services to Fishguard Harbour.- In 2000, the night service was still operated by First Great WesternFirst Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
but the daytime train was operated by Wales&WestWales and WestWales & West was a British Train Operating Company that ran services from 1997 to 2001, and was one of the original 25 Train Operating Companies that were set up after the UK Rail Industry was privatised...
. First Great WesternFirst Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
continued to run daytime services into West Wales during the day using INTERCITY 125InterCity 125The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
trains but only as far as CarmarthenCarmarthen railway stationCarmarthen railway station is situated south of the River Towy on the edge of the town of Carmarthen. It is located on the West Wales Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it...
for most of the year. - Wales&West's services transferred to Wales & Borders TrainsWales and BordersWales and Borders is the name of a franchise of train services covering Wales, the Welsh Marches and bordering counties of England.-History:The franchise was initially formed from part of the former Wales and West franchise and the Cardiff Railway Company , together with the lines from Shrewsbury...
when Wales&West was split up.
- In 2000, the night service was still operated by First Great Western
May 2003 to September 2003
2003 saw the end of the remaining First Great Western Fishguard services, with the Wales and Border's franchise holder taking over (Arriva Trains WalesArriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
took over in December 2003). This started a wide range of exotic stations for the trains to run to and from.
- The night-time train started from every-day, connecting with EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
continental services, with the train arriving at 02.38 Tuesday to Saturday mornings, and 01.00 Sunday and Monday mornings. Because of this later arrival on Tuesday to Saturday, this arriving service ran empty to Carmarthen rather than form a return journey. - The night-time train went to on Monday to Saturdays and on Sundays, leaving each day at 01.50. On Tuesday to Saturdays, this was formed of empty stock run from Carmarthen, whereas on Sundays and Mondays, it was formed of the incoming train from Waterloo.
- On Monday to Fridays, the day-time train started from between 30 June and 5 September, not stopping Swansea and Carmarthen stations. Before and after these dates, the train started from and also called at Carmarthen.
- On Saturdays, the day-time train went to and from
- On Sundays, the day-time train started at , and went only as far as although it offered a 5 to 10 minute connection at Carmarthen for the London train.
From September 2003 to September 2011
- The daytime train operates to and from , arriving and leaving Fishguard Harbour between 1pm and 2pm, often starting from and/or terminating at stations beyond Cardiff, such as in 2003.
- In 2010 and 2011 the service starts from Cardiff and calls only at and on route to Fishguard Harbour, making it the only scheduled passenger service to use the Carmarthen avoider line. On the return, the train calls at as well as and before reaching , the train then continues to .
- This daytime service therefore avoids in both directions, either using the "Swansea Avoiding Line" around the back of Landore Train Maintenance Depot or (more often) the Swansea District LineSwansea District LineThe Swansea District Line is a section of line running through the northern part of Swansea, and is used for freight transportation, and minimal passenger transport. It was built by the Great Western Railway in 1912 to provide a faster and less steeply graded route between London and Fishguard, in...
.
- A daily train operates in the night, arriving and leaving Fishguard Harbour between 1am and 2am
- This train operates to and from
- This train has often started from/terminated at other stations beyond Swansea, such as on Sunday services in 2011
- As maintenance of the railways is predominantly done at night, this train is frequently replaced by buses. This is normally known well in advance. When buses replace the trains, the bus usually arrives at at around 02.05 and leaves after loading/unloading passengers, normally around 02.10
In 2010/2011 a Class 150
British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...
unit usually works the daytime service, which is highly unsuitable for such a limited stop service compared to the Class 158
British Rail Class 158
British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...
trains Arriva used at one point. The train used on the night time workings to Swansea goes on to work the first Heart Of Wales Line
Heart of Wales Line
The Heart of Wales Line is a railway line running from Craven Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in South Wales. It runs, as the name suggests, through some of the heartlands of Wales. It serves a number of rural centres en route, including several once fashionable spa towns, including Llandrindod Wells...
train of the day, meaning it is likely to be a Class 153
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...
unit.
From September 2011 to 2014
On 12 September 2011 the two Fishguard boat trains were joined at Fishguard Harbour by the following new services:- Two trips from Fishguard Harbour to and two return (the first Clarbeston Road to Fishguard trip leaving at 07:34 with no connection from further east)
- One trip to
- One trip from (leaving at 05:50 with no connection from further east), and two trips to,
- Two arrivals from
- One of these is shown on the East Coast journey planner to come only from and on the Fishguard & Six Nations Timetable as coming from . The service east of Whitland is shown on the journey planner as a direct train from to .
These extra services are the first regular timetabled services to Fishguard Harbour not provided solely for connection with ferries since local services were withdrawn in 1964. Both boat trains remain, and since the additional services are only run Monday to Saturday are still the only Sunday services.
These extra services, with trains to and from Cardiff and Clarbeston Road, are not quite what was expected when the Welsh Assembly Government announced it would be funding up to £1.4m annually to provide extra services between and Fishguard. This decision has been credited to two teenagers from Moylegrove
Moylegrove
Moylgrove , also spelled Moylegrove, is a village and parish in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about from Cardigan.-Description:The placename "Moylegrove" means "Matilda's Grove." "Matilda" may have been the wife of a Norman lord of the manor. The Welsh placename may mean "Irishman's farm" or "grove...
who collected a 1,440 signature petition in support of the move. A consultation was held in May/June 2011 on the planned services, but did not result in much ajustment to the times. This initiative has guaranteed funding until 2014, during which a review will be carried out to identify demand and passenger numbers and future funding.