Llanelli railway station

Llanelli railway station is the railway station serving the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located on the West Wales line and the Heart of Wales line 11 ¹⁄₄ miles (18.1 km) west of Swansea by rail. The station and the majority of trains calling are operated by Transport for Wales. It is located between two level crossings (known as East and West) that were previously upgraded in the 1970s. In 2015, Network Rail carried out a further upgrade which saw the control of these level crossings pass from the Grade-II listed Llanelli West signal box (which worked the two crossings here only since 1973) to Port Talbot Panel Signal Box using CCTV.[1]

Llanelli
Location
Place	Llanelli
Local authority	Carmarthenshire
Coordinates	51.674°N 4.161°W / 51.674; -4.161
Grid reference	SS506994
Operations
Station code	LLE
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.403 million
2015/16	0.405 million
2016/17	0.413 million
2017/18	0.401 million
2018/19	0.398 million
– Interchange	5,331
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Llanelli from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Facilities

The station is staffed, with the ticket office on platform 2. A self-service ticket machine is provided for use when the booking office is closed and for collecting advance purchase/pre-paid tickets. The main buildings on this platform also house a newsagents shop, toilets, help point and post box. Platform 1 has canopies, bench seating and a customer help point. Digital CIS displays, timetable posters and automated announcements provide train running information. The platforms are linked by a footbridge with steps, but level access is possible to both platforms using the east level crossing and nearby road.[2]

Services

Llanelli in July 1971.

Transport for Wales operate an approximately hourly service in each direction along the West Wales Line, from Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central via Swansea to Carmarthen, with two-hourly extensions to Milford Haven. There is a separate (roughly two-hourly service) between Swansea and Pembroke Dock via Tenby that calls, along with the twice-daily service to and from Fishguard Harbour that runs to connect with the ferry to/from Rosslare.[3]

The daily Great Western Railway service between Carmarthen and London Paddington also calls here (three each way on Sundays). Great Western Railway also operates a summer Saturday service between London and Pembroke Dock.

There are four trains a day in each direction on the Heart of Wales line to Shrewsbury, plus a fifth morning peak train (Mon-Fri only) to/from Llandovery. Two trains each way operate on the line on Sundays. As the line from Swansea also enters Llanelli from the east, these trains must reverse direction here (in platform 2, which is signalled accordingly) to continue their journeys.[4]

Rail and sea corridor to Ireland

Transport for Wales' boat trains to and from Fishguard Harbour serve the station. These connect with the Stena Line ferry to Rosslare Europort in Ireland with a daily morning and evening service in both directions. Two other services to and from there also call since the branch service was improved in 2011. This route has been in existence since 1906.

History

Llanelli railway station was the scene for the Llanelli Riots of 1911. The Llanelli Riots took place on 19 August 1911. Their immediate cause was the very first railway strike which lasted only two days.[5] The strike started on Thursday evening, and by Saturday evening two young men had been shot dead by the military.[6] One man was killed when a railway truck exploded and, on the following day, three more people died from their injuries. The story of the Riots is set in a period of great industrial unrest, and involves prominent figures on the international scene such as Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, King George V, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

Routes

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Gowerton		Transport for Wales West Wales line		Pembrey & Burry Port
Port Talbot		Transport for Wales Swansea District line		Pembrey & Burry Port
Gowerton or Swansea		Transport for Wales Heart of Wales line		Bynea
Swansea		Great Western Railway London - Carmarthen		Pembrey & Burry Port or Carmarthen

References

1. Llanelli West signal box Railways Around Llanelli; Retrieved 5 April 2017
2. Llanelli station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 5 April 2017
3. GB eNRT, 2016-17 Edition Table 128
4. GB eNRT, Table 129
5. Llanelli Star
6. "Llanelli rally for Prince Philip Hospital and 1911 riot". BBC News South West Wales. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

External links

Media related to Llanelli railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Llanelli railway station from National Rail