Llandrindod railway station serves the town of Llandrindod Wells in Mid Wales. It is located on the single lineHeart of Wales Line southwest of and is served by five trains each way on Mondays to Saturdays, two each way on Sundays. Passenger services are operated byTransport for Wales. The facility to pass northbound and southbound trains is used daily. It is the most used stationon the line itself, despite only having four trains a day in each direction ; this has caused overcrowding on trains, and despite campaigns by local rail groups, the service has not been improved. A fifth a.m peak weekday service from Shrewsbury terminating at the station before heading back north to Crewe, was introduced in the May 2015 timetable change.
History
The station was opened in 1865, as the terminus of a branch line from Knighton by the Central Wales Railway which was absorbed by the LNWR soon after completion. Construction of the Central Wales Extension Railway southwards towards Llandovery started soon after and upon completion of this line in 1868, the town found itself on a through route between Craven Arms & Swansea. The line through the station was singled as an economy measure in the 1960s, although a passing loop was left a short distance to the north, near the town's level crossing. However the loop was relocated to the station in 1986 by British Rail as part of the signalling modernisation scheme that centralised control at Pantyffynnon. The redundant No.2 signal box was subsequently also relocated to the station after closure and restored to full working order as a museum. It is located on the southbound platform and is open to the public at certain times. The passing loop point machines were replaced on 22 August 2010 as part of a £5 million Network Rail modernisation scheme to renew the points at all five loops on the route.
Facilities
The station is notable for having the only staffed ticket office on the entire line, which is staffed on a part-time basis; this is sited within the main building on the southbound platform. When the ticket office is closed, tickets must be purchased on the train. There is a waiting room within the buildings on the northbound side and canopies provide a covered waiting area on the southbound side. Digital display screens, customer help points and timetable poster boards are provided on both platforms – these are linked by a fully accessible ramped footbridge. A pay phone and post box are also provided; though no toilets are available on the station, there are public ones located nearby on Station Crescent.
