Pembroke Dock railway station

Pembroke Dock railway station serves the town of Pembroke Dock in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is the terminus of the Pembroke Dock branch of West Wales Lines from Swansea, 27 ¹⁄₄ miles (44 km) southwest of Whitland.

Pembroke Dock
Welsh: Doc Penfro
Pembroke Dock railway station in May 2016
Location
Place	Pembroke Dock
Local authority	Pembrokeshire
Coordinates	51.694°N 4.938°W / 51.694; -4.938
Grid reference	SM970035
Operations
Station code	PMD
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	47,378
2015/16	46,710
2016/17	49,362
2017/18	46,226
2018/19	47,918
History
Original company	Pembroke and Tenby Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
8 August 1864 (1864-08-08)	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Pembroke Dock from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

It was opened on 8 August 1864 by the Pembroke and Tenby Railway[1] as an extension of their route from Pembroke to serve the Royal Navy dockyard in the town, though it was not until 1866 that the P&T route finally reached the main line at Whitland. The line was notable when constructed as it was built as standard gauge, not the 7-foot broad gauge used by the Great Western Railway at the time; and so it was isolated from the South Wales Railway main line until 1868, when dual gauge track was laid as far as Carmarthen to meet the standard gauge tracks of the London and North Western Railway. In 1872, the GWR converted all of its lines in the area to standard gauge.

The station in January 1968

Station building in August 2017

Originally, the station had two platforms. Both remain but only the southern one is in use (the track serving the other has now been removed). Part of the main building has been converted into The Station Inn, a real ale pub.[2] Originally carrying munitions, the freight branch ran past the station across local streets down to the actual dockside until 1969. Subsequently, albeit partially, the track has been lifted.

Facilities

Transport for Wales Rail is the operator; the station is unstaffed; ticket machine is installed; CIS displays provide train running information in addition to the standard timetable poster boards and public telephone. The station canopies remain to provide a covered waiting area with bench seating. There are no waiting rooms. Level access is available from the car park and at the main entrance to the platform.[3]

Services

There is a regular daily service to/from Swansea via Carmarthen and Whitland, with some through trains to/from Cardiff Central and further east (one service originating at Manchester Piccadilly). Connections are available at Swansea for mainline destinations at other times. Trains run every two hours Mon-Sat,[4] with a less frequent service on Sundays.

On summer Saturdays, the station is also used by Great Western Railway who provided two InterCity 125s in each direction: two to London Paddington, one from London Paddington and one early morning HST starting its journey from Swansea. One through train in each direction is named the Pembroke Coast Express. For the 2019 summer season, the new Class 800 train sets have replaced the HST sets formerly used.[5]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Pembroke		Transport for Wales West Wales line		Terminus
Pembroke		Great Western Railway London - Pembroke Summer Saturdays		Terminus
	Ferry services
Terminus		Irish Ferries Ferry		Rosslare Europort

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 182. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
2. Railscot - Pembroke Dock www.railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-11-22
3. Pembroke Dock station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 6 April 2017
4. GB National Rail Timetable May 2019 Edition, Table 128
5. "South Pembrokeshire stations, including Tenby and Pembroke Dock, welcome new GWR train" Davies, Ruth Western Telegraph news article 30 May 2019; Retrieved 19 August 2019

External links

Media related to Pembroke Dock railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Pembroke Dock railway station from National Rail