Prestatyn railway station

Prestatyn
Prestatyn viewed from the new footbridge
Location
Place	Prestatyn
Local authority	Denbighshire
Coordinates	53°20′10″N 3°24′25″W / 53.336°N 3.407°WCoordinates: 53°20′10″N 3°24′25″W / 53.336°N 3.407°W
Grid reference	SJ063830
Operations
Station code	PRT
Managed by	Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	0.248 million
2005/06	0.250 million
2006/07	0.277 million
2007/08	0.283 million
2008/09	0.320 million
2009/10	0.333 million
2010/11	0.336 million
2011/12	0.362 million
2012/13	0.362 million
2013/14	0.363 million
2014/15	0.349 million
History
1848	1st station opened
1897	current 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 Prestatyn from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Prestatyn railway station serves the town of Prestatyn in North Wales. It located on the North Wales Coast Line and was opened in 1848. The coming of the railway is credited with bringing prosperity to the town, which was an aspiring resort.^[1] The station is managed by Arriva Trains Wales and is served by their services from Cardiff Central, Birmingham International and Manchester to Holyhead and Llandudno; also by Virgin Trains services to and from London Euston.

History

The first railway station in Prestatyn opened in 1848, when the Chester and Holyhead Railway reached the town. Later, the line became part on the London & North Western Railway, who quadrupled it through the town in 1897 and built the current station as part of the widening scheme.^[2] Although threatened with closure in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts, objections meant the station was reprieved.^[3] It has however reverted to double track operation, with the former fast line centre island platform the only one still in use.

The station was also once the junction for a branch line to Dyserth - this was opened by the LNWR in 1869, initially for mineral traffic only. A passenger service was instituted in 1905 but lasted only until 1930, when it was withdrawn by the LMS. It remained open to serve a quarry at Dyserth until complete closure in 1973.^[4] Much of the old line is now used as a footpath.^[5]

In Autumn 2011 Prestatyn was the first of six stations in Wales to receive a new access footbridge and lift installed as part of Network Rail's national 'Access for All programme'.^[6]

Services

The hourly Manchester to Llandudno and Birmingham International/Cardiff to Holyhead services both call here, giving the station two trains each hour to Chester and Llandudno Junction. There are also six through trains each weekday to and from London. On Saturdays there are four trains to/from London.^[7]

On Sundays there is an hourly service each way from mid-morning (to Holyhead westbound and Crewe eastbound) plus two through trains to London.

Gallery

• 

  Sculpture at the station entrance by Denis O'Connor Sculpture Works

• 

  Prestatyn signal box

• 

  Part of the new footbridge

• 

  On the platform

References

1. "Railway line history". Visit Prestatyn. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
2. "Prestatyn first station". Disused Stations. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
3. Charlie Hulme. "North Wales Coast Railway History". North Wales Coast Railway. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
4. Visit Prestatyn - Railway Line History Visit Prestatyn website; Retrieved 2009-03-23
5. Dyserth-Prestatyn Railway www.dyserth.com; Retrieved 2009-03-23
6. New footbridge installed www.networkrail.co.uk/Access_for_all/Prestatyn.aspx; Retrieved 2011-12-23
7. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 81

External links

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