Abergavenny

Welsh: Y Fenni
National Rail
Abergavenny station (April 2019)
General information
LocationAbergavenny, Monmouthshire
Wales
Coordinates51°49′00″N 3°00′32″W / 51.8167°N 3.0088°W / 51.8167; -3.0088
Grid referenceSO305136
Managed byTransport for Wales
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeAGV
ClassificationDfT category D
Key dates
2 January 1854Station opens
19 July 1950Renamed Abergavenny Monmouth Road
6 May 1968Renamed Abergavenny
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.433 million
2019/20Decrease 0.415 million
2020/21Decrease 0.102 million
2021/22Increase 0.284 million
2022/23Increase 0.360 million
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureAbergavenny Railway Station, including down platform building and footbridge
Designated1 November 1974
Reference no.2472[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Abergavenny railway station (Welsh: Y Fenni) is situated south-east of the town centre of Abergavenny, Wales. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Transport for Wales. It lies on the Welsh Marches Line between Newport and Hereford.

Abergavenny lies at the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park and provides an access point to local services and public transport into the park. The station is Grade II listed[1] and was designed by Charles Liddell, in an Italianate architectural style when he was Chief Engineer of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.

History

The station, designed by Charles Liddell, Chief Engineer of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR), is in an Italianate architecture style[2] in a local pink semi-ashlar sandstone[3] with natural slate roofs and stone stacks. The down platform building is stone with a timber-framed front and a natural slate roof.[1] The footbridge comprises cast iron columns of typical GWR design which support the stairways and the two spans. The span over the now removed by-pass freight lines is the wrought iron lattice girder original but the main span over the running tracks was replaced by a steel plate-girder in the late 20th century.

The NA&HR amalgamated with other railways in 1860 to form the West Midland Railway, which itself amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863.[4] The line then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. In 1950, the station was renamed Abergavenny Monmouth Road, but reverted to its simple name in 1968. When sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the privatisation of British Railways.

Stationmasters

In 1913 the body of station master Thomas Jones was found in the River Usk at Llanellen.[5] He was said to have been suffering from depression but his state of mind was not confirmed as the cause of death at the inquest.

  • Frederick Corran Barrett 1864 - 1874[6] (formerly station master at Ledbury, afterwards station master at Bridgnorth)
  • Joshua John Baugh 1874 - 1884[7]
  • Fred Angle 1884 - 1896[8] (afterwards station master at Totnes)
  • Ernest C. Peglar until 1900[9] (afterwards station master at Ross)
  • Thomas Jones 1900[10] -1913 (formerly station master at Hereford Barton)
  • Sidney Earle Loveridge 1921 - 1924[11] (formerly station master at Great Malvern, afterwards station master at Cheltenham)
  • George Edwin Howell 1928 - 1936[12] (afterwards station master at Stroud)
  • James Edward Perkin 1937[13] - 1939[14] (formerly station master at Kington)
  • John Lanman 1946 - 1951[15] (formerly station master at Blaina, afterwards station master at Merthyr)

Railway town

A branch line to Brynmawr was opened in 1862 starting at Abergavenny Junction station north of the current station, constructed by the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway (MT&AR). The line also had a station in the town called Abergavenny Brecon Road, making three stations in all. This company was acquired by the London and North Western Railway in 1866. In 1958 the MT&AR passenger trains ceased and Abergavenny Junction was closed.

GWR Locomotive 'Abergavenny Castle'

A GWR Castle-class locomotive, number 5013, was named after Abergavenny Castle.

Facilities

The station is staffed in the daytime, with the ticket office open seven days per week. It has disabled access to platforms, a cafeteria and toilets, plus large waiting rooms on both platforms. Train running information is provided via automated announcements, digital CIS displays and timetable posters, along with a customer help point on platform 1. Step-free access is available on the northbound platform at all times, but to the southbound one only when the ticket office is staffed (as this requires the use of a barrow crossing with locked gates). There is also a footbridge linking the two platforms.[16]

Proposals for an accessible footbridge at the station were put forward in 2010 but cancelled as Network Rail failed to obtain listed building consent.[17]

The footbridge was temporarily replaced whilst Network Rail took down and restored the original footbridge between December 2018 and July 2019. The bridge was restored at a specialist company in Cardiff. Works involved adding anti-slip material to the deck and refurbishing the trestle support columns and staircases. Future works include providing the station with step-free access throughout as part of the Department of Transport Access for All fund, which will be match-funded by Transport for Wales.[18]

Services

With a few exceptions, the weekday daytime service pattern typically sees one train per hour in each direction between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central, with most trains continuing beyond Cardiff to Swansea and West Wales. There is also a two-hourly service between Cardiff and the North Wales Coast Line to Holyhead via Wrexham General. These services are all operated by Transport for Wales.[19] The northbound Premier service from Cardiff to Holyhead calls here on Monday to Fridays but the southbound service does not call here.

Two trains per day in the early morning on weekdays to London Paddington, via Hereford and the Cotswold Line, commenced operation in December 2007. However, they were short lived, being withdrawn in December 2008; they were deemed pointless as changing at Newport was quicker. These services were operated by First Great Western.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Pontypool and New Inn
or
Cwmbran		   Transport for Wales
Welsh Marches Line		   Hereford
Cwmbran   Transport for Wales
North-South "Premier" service		   Hereford
  Historical railways  
Penpergwm
Line open, station closed		   Great Western Railway
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
   Abergavenny Junction
Line open, station closed

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cadw. "Abergavenny Railway Station, including down platform building and footbridge (2472)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Abergavenny railway station". transportheritage.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Newman, John (2000). The Buildings of Wales. Gwent/Monmouthshire. Yale University Press. p. 105. ISBN 0300096305.
  4. ↑ MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833–1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. pp. 543, 553.
  5. ↑ "Yesterday". Daily Citizen. England. 6 December 1913. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.5". Great Western Railway: 113. 1835. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  7. ↑ "Testimonial to Mr. Baugh, late Station-Master at the Great Western Station". Abergavenny Chronicle. England. 17 August 1883. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Removal of Mr Fred Angle". Abergavenny Chroniclel. England. 27 November 1896. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Presentation to the Stationmaster". Hereford Journal. England. 31 March 1900. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Interesting Presentation at Barton Station". Hereford Journal. England. 3 February 1900. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "G.W.R. Staff Changes". Gloucester Citizen. England. 4 October 1924. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ "Former Stroud Stationmaster". Gloucester Citizen. England. 11 July 1947. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ "Former Kington Stationmaster". Kington Times. England. 23 October 1937. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ↑ "Mr. J.E. Perkin, Abergavenny". Western Mail. England. 13 February 1939. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ↑ "Merthyr's New Stationmaster". Merthyr Express. England. 7 April 1951. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ Abergavenny station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 10 April 2017
  17. ↑ "LOOK: New design for long-awaited railway station footbridge revealed". South Wales Argus. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Abergavenny station footbridge refurbishment completed: Residents and passengers thanked". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  19. ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 131
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