Penychain railway station

Penychain
National Rail
Penychain station in 2014
General information
Locationnear Chwilog, Gwynedd
Wales
Coordinates52°54′11″N 4°20′20″W / 52.903°N 4.339°W / 52.903; -4.339
Grid referenceSH428364
ManagerTransport for Wales
Platforms1
Other information
Station codePNC
ClassificationDfT category F2
Key dates
31 July 1933Opened (as Penychain Halt)
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 640
2021/22Increase 2,894
2022/23Increase 4,314
2023/24Increase 4,818
2024/25Increase 8,892
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Penychain railway station, is located by an over bridge at Pen-ychain on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. For many years the station served the large Butlins Holiday Camp at Penychain. The station is on the Cambrian Line, between Abererch and Criccieth, 129 miles 29 chains (208.2 km) from Whitchurch, measured via Oswestry (the original line diverging at Welshpool).

History

The station opened as Penychain Halt on 31 July 1933. Butlin's built the adjacent camp in 1940 at the request of the Admiralty to serve as HMS Glendower, a Royal Navy training base at Penychain was already used as a Rifle range during WWI. After the end of the war the Butlins camp opened, and the name was changed to Penychain for Pwllheli Holiday Camp on 3 April 1947. The name then changed to Butlins Penychain on 17 May 1993, before reverting to its current name on 18 May 2001.

Between November 2013 and September 2014, services were suspended north of Harlech due to issues with construction of Pont Briwet, near Penrhyndeudraeth. From 1 September to 1 December 2023, engineering work took place to finish restoration of the Barmouth Viaduct. Rail replacement buses served stations from Pwllheli to Machynlleth.

Facilities

There is a large shelter, a bench, and a live departure screen. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

Passenger volume at Penychain
2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Entries and exits 2,996 2,512 2,719 2,274 1,896 2,446 2,394 3,060 3,252 3,276 1,716 3,430 3,540 4,126 3,554 3,298 640 2,894 4,314 4,818 8,892

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

Penychain is an unstaffed halt and request stop. There are 8 trains a day, each way to Pwllheli and Machynlleth. A limited service of 5 trains each way operates on Sundays.

Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
Abererch   Transport for Wales
Cambrian Coast Line
   Criccieth

References

  1. ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Shannon & Hillmer 1999, p. 27.
  3. ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (2023). Railway Track Diagrams; 3: Western & Wales (7th ed.). Frome: TRACKmaps. pp. .page. ISBN 978 1999627164.
  4. 1 2 3 Quick 2023, p. 363.
  5. ↑ "Map Finder - with Marker Pin - Map Images - National Library of Scotland".
  6. ↑ The National Archives, Kew. ADM 1/10431
  7. ↑ Dacre, Peter (1982). The Billy Butlin Story. Robson Books. ISBN 0-86051-864-7.
  8. ↑ Quick 2023, p. 561.
  9. ↑ "Railway line closed after work destabilises rail and road crossing in North Wales". Daily Post. 6 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Restoring Barmouth Viaduct - Network Rail". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Engineering works: Machynlleth and Harlech | National Rail". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Penychain Station | Train Times | Transport for Wales". tfw.wales. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  14. ↑ eNRT May 2026 Edition, Table 075 (Network Rail)

Bibliography