Llanelli railway station is the railway station serving the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located on the West Wales line and the Heart of Wales line 225 mi from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Stroud. The station and the majority of trains calling are operated by Transport for Wales. It is located between two level crossings (known as East and West) that were previously upgraded in the 1970s. In 2015, Network Rail carried out a further upgrade which saw the control of these level crossings pass from the Grade-II listed Llanelli West signal box (which worked the two crossings here only since 1973) to Port Talbot Panel Signal Box using CCTV.

History

Llanelli railway station was the scene for the Llanelli Riots of 1911. The Llanelli Riots took place on 19 August 1911. Their immediate cause was the very first railway strike which lasted only two days. The strike started on Thursday evening, and by Saturday evening two young men had been shot dead by the military. One man was killed when a railway truck exploded and, on the following day, three more people died from their injuries. The story of the Riots is set in a period of great industrial unrest, and involves prominent figures on the international scene such as Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, King George V, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

Facilities

The station is staffed, with the ticket office on platform 2. A self-service ticket machine is provided for use when the booking office is closed and for collecting advance purchase/pre-paid tickets. The main buildings on this platform also house a newsagents shop, toilets, help point and post box. Platform 1 has canopies, bench seating and a customer help point. Digital CIS displays, timetable posters and automated announcements provide train running information. The platforms are linked by a footbridge with steps, but level access is possible to both platforms using the east level crossing and nearby road. The station is set to become fully accessible by autumn 2024. Network Rail will undertake this work with funding from the Department for Transport's "Access for All" programme.

Services

Transport for Wales operate an approximately hourly service in each direction along the West Wales Line, from Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central via Swansea to Carmarthen, with two-hourly extensions to Milford Haven. There is a separate (roughly two-hourly service) between Swansea and Pembroke Dock via Tenby that calls, along with the twice-daily service to and from Fishguard Harbour that runs to connect with the ferry to/from Rosslare. The six daily Great Western Railway services between Carmarthen and London Paddington also calls here. Great Western Railway also operates a summer Saturday service between London and Pembroke Dock. There are six trains a day in each direction on the Heart of Wales line to Shrewsbury, plus a fifth morning peak train (Mon-Fri only) to/from Llandovery. As the line from Swansea also enters Llanelli from the east, these trains must reverse direction here (in platform 2, which is signalled accordingly) to continue their journeys.

Future services

In December 2022, the ORR approved Grand Union to commence a new service from Paddington to Carmarthen in partnership with Spanish rail operator Renfe, for which a fleet of new bi-mode trains will be used. The new service is scheduled to commence in December 2024. The service will call at Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff Central, Gowerton and Llanelli en-route to Carmarthen.

Rail and sea corridor to Ireland

Transport for Wales' boat trains to and from Fishguard Harbour serve the station. These connect with the Stena Line ferry to Rosslare Europort in Ireland with a daily morning and evening service in both directions. Two other services to and from there also call since the branch service was improved in 2011. This route has been in existence since 1906.