Newtown railway station () is a railway station serving Newtown, Powys, Wales. It is on the Cambrian Line, between Shrewsbury and Caersws, from Whitchurch (measured via Oswestry). Transport for Wales Rail manage the station and operate all services.
History The station was opened on 11 August 1859. It was resited slightly to the east in June 1861.
It was also originally served by the (now mostly defunct) Llanidloes and Newtown Railway (opened in 1859 and initially isolated from the rest of the Welsh railway system) and the Oswestry and Newtown Railway (opened in 1861). All were subsequently subsumed into the Cambrian by 1865. The station was the eastern terminus of the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway opened by the Countess of Londonderry at Machynlleth station on 3 January 1863.Engineering Timelines – Talerddig CuttingEngineering Timelines; Retrieved 6 May 2016
The Mid-Wales line passenger service was withdrawn on 31 December 1962, though trains to and from this route latterly started and terminated at Moat Lane Junction. Services to Oswestry and Whitchurch via the former O&NR Cambrian main line ended in January 1965, when the route east of Buttington closed to passenger traffic as a consequence of the Beeching cuts.
Facilities
The station currently has two through platforms, which are used separately for trains in either direction. The station is usually used as one of the passing points for trains on the Cambrian Line as it is a single track.
There is a ticket office in the main building. It also has a computer training centre. This replaced the ticket office previously operated independently, which closed in 2020. Train running information is provided by digital CIS displays, automatic announcements and customer help points on both platforms. Step-free access is available on both platforms, but the ramp to access Platform 2 is not suitable for wheelchair or mobility scooter users.Newtown station facilities National Rail Enquiries Artwork on the platform is created by local young people.
From December 2023, construction on a new accessible footbridge with lifts began, with it hoped to be completed by the end of 2024. Undertaken by Network Rail, the construction utilises funding from the Department for Transport's "Access for All" programme.
Passenger volume +Passenger volume at Newtown2004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023–242024–25Entries and exits91,88390,83696,464105,260110,034114,310119,194126,110123,578123,918130,306147,938161,722185,064175,336151,57022,42087,598124,412140,288171,366 The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services Trains run from here westwards to and then either or via (most trains convey a portion for both routes) and eastwards to and . There is a basic two-hourly service each way – on weekdays and Saturdays there are also some additional Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth services during the mornings and evenings. On Sundays there is a two-hourly service on the Shrewsbury – Aberystwyth axis, but only a limited service along the coast to/from Pwllheli (three in summer and one in winter).
References
Bibliography
External links
YouTube video with narration of the station