Penarth railway station
Encyclopedia
Penarth railway station is the railway station serving the town of Penarth
in the Vale of Glamorgan
, Wales
. It is the terminus
of the Penarth branch of the Vale of Glamorgan Line
4¼ miles (7 km) south of Cardiff Central
.
in 1865 allowing the newly-created docks in Penarth to compete on equal terms with the now famous Cardiff Bute Docks. The line now terminates at Penarth station but, until 1968 the spur continued on through to Alberta Halt (by the Archer Road bridge), Lower Penarth (Cosmeston) Halt, Lavernock Halt, Swanbridge Halt and Sully Station before connecting back to the Barry Railway at Cadoxton
.
For over seventy years between 1896 and closure in 1968 most of the summer weekend and school holiday rail traffic from Penarth carried holidaymakers and Penarthians to the busy beach at Lavernock
or the Barry Island Pleasure Park
for the day, with steam trains operating every thirty minutes from 7.15 am until 11.45 pm in both directions.
, the stretch of line from the Snocem Cement Works, at Cosmeston, to Cadoxton was removed in 1968 and, when the cement works finally closed in 1970, the track from Penarth Station was also removed. When in full operation the branch line had two, or in part three, tracks and goods sidings at Penarth but it is now single track
from the Cogan junction to Penarth.
The redundant track bed through Lower Penarth and out towards Sully has, in part, been built on and blocked off but still retains long stretches as a partially navigable rural greenway and cyclepath as far as the Fort Road bridge near Lavernock.
Until 1968, the station had two platforms, one on each side of the tracks for down and up traffic, with a gated foot crossing. When the Sully branch closed, the platform buildings on the Plymouth Road side were sold off and used as a commercial garden centre until they were finally demolished in the 1980s and a new Government Jobcentre plus
and private offices built in their place. The loss of the downside platform and its station building also effectively closed the station's main car parking berths in the specially widened eastern end of Plymouth Road'.
The removal of the coastal rail spur severed the direct link between Penarth and nearby Barry. Completion of the journey by rail today entails first travelling in the opposite direction as far as Grangetown, before catching a connecting train to Barry, effectively doubling the journey time and distance travelled.
The original Railway Hotel no longer provides accommodation but still operates as a boisterous and popular young persons' public house
with the originally separate lounge bar, smoke room, public bar and off-sales shop all knocked into a single open space. The busy outside beer garden has been popular with the town's younger drinkers, during summer months, for over forty years.
All services on this line are currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales
as part of the Valley Lines
portion of the National Rail
network.
on Mondays to Saturdays, of which 1tph continues to Rhymney
. In the evenings, services terminate short at either Ystrad Mynach
and Caerphilly
and the frequency pattern decreases to 2tph. There is one evening service to Treherbert
, combined with a Rhymney
service, which splits at Cardiff Central
. This service departs at 18:18.
On Sundays, the service pattern dramatically decreases, with just a two-hourly service. This is only 6 trains per day, at 10:47, 12:47, 14:47, 16:47, 18:47 and 20:47, and they only run as far as Cardiff Central
. There are plans, to however, to increase this service to an hourly service.
Journey times to Cardiff Central
is 12 minutes, to Caerphilly
is 33 minutes, Bargoed
is exactly 1 hour and Rhymney
is 1 hour and 16 minutes.
All services are operated by Class 142
and Class 143
Pacer units, which usually run in pairs to provide a 4-car service. Services are also regularly operated by Class 150
Sprinter units, although these are normally just the single unit. However, sometimes Sprinter units run in pairs and quite rarely, a Sprinter and a Pacer are sometimes formed in pairs.
, which remains a popular corridor between the two towns. Passengers for Barry must now initially travel in the opposite direction and change at Grangetown
, before heading back to Barry. Alternatively, passengers may take the 20-minute walk from Penarth to Cogan railway station
.
Future plans have been outlined to relocate the platforms at Cogan railway station
to the other side of the Penarth spur junction so that passengers for Barry could change at Cogan
instead of having to go all the way out to Grangetown
. Currently, since the closure of two platforms in 1968, Cogan railway station
serves only the Vale line.
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
in the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
, 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
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
of the Penarth branch of the Vale of Glamorgan Line
Vale of Glamorgan Line
The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend via Barry, Rhoose and Llantwit Major. There are also branch lines to Penarth and Barry Island. As its names suggests, the line runs through the Vale of Glamorgan....
4¼ miles (7 km) south of Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
.
The busy years
The station opened in 1878 and stands on an extension of the line originally built by the Taff Vale RailwayTaff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
in 1865 allowing the newly-created docks in Penarth to compete on equal terms with the now famous Cardiff Bute Docks. The line now terminates at Penarth station but, until 1968 the spur continued on through to Alberta Halt (by the Archer Road bridge), Lower Penarth (Cosmeston) Halt, Lavernock Halt, Swanbridge Halt and Sully Station before connecting back to the Barry Railway at Cadoxton
Cadoxton railway station
Cadoxton railway station is a railway station serving Cadoxton and Palmerstown near Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 10 km south of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend and Barry Island....
.
For over seventy years between 1896 and closure in 1968 most of the summer weekend and school holiday rail traffic from Penarth carried holidaymakers and Penarthians to the busy beach at Lavernock
Lavernock
Lavernock is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, lying on the coast south of Cardiff between Penarth and Sully, and overlooking the Bristol Channel.- Marconi and the first radio messages across open sea :...
or the Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales. The park opens annually at weekends from Easter onwards and daily during the school summer holidays, until the first weekend...
for the day, with steam trains operating every thirty minutes from 7.15 am until 11.45 pm in both directions.
Effects of the Beeching review
As with most rural branch lines affected by the Beeching AxeBeeching Axe
The 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...
, the stretch of line from the Snocem Cement Works, at Cosmeston, to Cadoxton was removed in 1968 and, when the cement works finally closed in 1970, the track from Penarth Station was also removed. When in full operation the branch line had two, or in part three, tracks and goods sidings at Penarth but it is now single track
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
from the Cogan junction to Penarth.
The redundant track bed through Lower Penarth and out towards Sully has, in part, been built on and blocked off but still retains long stretches as a partially navigable rural greenway and cyclepath as far as the Fort Road bridge near Lavernock.
Until 1968, the station had two platforms, one on each side of the tracks for down and up traffic, with a gated foot crossing. When the Sully branch closed, the platform buildings on the Plymouth Road side were sold off and used as a commercial garden centre until they were finally demolished in the 1980s and a new Government Jobcentre plus
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus was a government agency for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres, merged with the Benefits Agency, which ran social security offices, and was re-named Jobcentre Plus on 1 April 2002...
and private offices built in their place. The loss of the downside platform and its station building also effectively closed the station's main car parking berths in the specially widened eastern end of Plymouth Road'.
The removal of the coastal rail spur severed the direct link between Penarth and nearby Barry. Completion of the journey by rail today entails first travelling in the opposite direction as far as Grangetown, before catching a connecting train to Barry, effectively doubling the journey time and distance travelled.
Original buildings
The majority of the original 19th century station buildings were demolished and replaced with modern structures in a major remodelling during 1984. Since 1971, the station's original bijou ticket office building, built in 1878, has been used for other purposes, first as a burger bar and more recently a late night Kebab shop.The original Railway Hotel no longer provides accommodation but still operates as a boisterous and popular young persons' public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
with the originally separate lounge bar, smoke room, public bar and off-sales shop all knocked into a single open space. The busy outside beer garden has been popular with the town's younger drinkers, during summer months, for over forty years.
Facilities
The station retains a tiny 'drop off and pick up only' car park located in Station Approach, but it is more commonly used for local shopping needs than for station traffic. The new ticket office within the station building is open early morning to mid afternoon each day except Sunday.All services on this line are currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva 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...
as part of the Valley Lines
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys....
portion of the National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
network.
Services
The usual service pattern is 4tph to BargoedBargoed railway station
Bargoed railway station serves the town of Bargoed in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney branch of the Valley Lines network...
on Mondays to Saturdays, of which 1tph continues to Rhymney
Rhymney railway station
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line....
. In the evenings, services terminate short at either Ystrad Mynach
Ystrad Mynach railway station
Ystrad Mynach railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ystrad Mynach, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.There is a dedicated rail linc bus that links with the train...
and Caerphilly
Caerphilly railway station
Caerphilly railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network. The station is located at Station Road in the South of the town. Facilities include a small shop and a Ticket Kiosk. A self-service Ticket...
and the frequency pattern decreases to 2tph. There is one evening service to Treherbert
Treherbert railway station
Treherbert railway station is a railway station serving the village of Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is the northern terminus of the Rhondda Line north west of Cardiff Central....
, combined with a Rhymney
Rhymney railway station
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line....
service, which splits at Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
. This service departs at 18:18.
On Sundays, the service pattern dramatically decreases, with just a two-hourly service. This is only 6 trains per day, at 10:47, 12:47, 14:47, 16:47, 18:47 and 20:47, and they only run as far as Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
. There are plans, to however, to increase this service to an hourly service.
Journey times to Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
is 12 minutes, to Caerphilly
Caerphilly railway station
Caerphilly railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network. The station is located at Station Road in the South of the town. Facilities include a small shop and a Ticket Kiosk. A self-service Ticket...
is 33 minutes, Bargoed
Bargoed railway station
Bargoed railway station serves the town of Bargoed in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney branch of the Valley Lines network...
is exactly 1 hour and Rhymney
Rhymney railway station
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line....
is 1 hour and 16 minutes.
All services are operated by Class 142
British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....
and Class 143
British Rail Class 143
The British Rail Class 143 is a diesel multiple unit, part of the Pacer family of trains introduced between 1985 and 1986. They originally worked in the North-East of England but were later transferred to Wales and South-West England....
Pacer units, which usually run in pairs to provide a 4-car service. Services are also regularly operated by 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 :...
Sprinter units, although these are normally just the single unit. However, sometimes Sprinter units run in pairs and quite rarely, a Sprinter and a Pacer are sometimes formed in pairs.
Barry connections
Since 1968, Penarth no longer has a direct rail link to Barry IslandBarry Island
Barry Island may refer to:*Barry Island , Wales*Barry Island , Antarctica...
, which remains a popular corridor between the two towns. Passengers for Barry must now initially travel in the opposite direction and change at Grangetown
Grangetown railway station
Grangetown railway station is a railway station serving the Grangetown district of Cardiff in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 1 mile south west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry, Penarth and Barry Island....
, before heading back to Barry. Alternatively, passengers may take the 20-minute walk from Penarth to Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 2¾ miles south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend....
.
Future plans have been outlined to relocate the platforms at Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 2¾ miles south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend....
to the other side of the Penarth spur junction so that passengers for Barry could change at Cogan
Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 2¾ miles south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend....
instead of having to go all the way out to Grangetown
Grangetown railway station
Grangetown railway station is a railway station serving the Grangetown district of Cardiff in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 1 mile south west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry, Penarth and Barry Island....
. Currently, since the closure of two platforms in 1968, Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station
Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 2¾ miles south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend....
serves only the Vale line.