Newport railway station

For other uses, see Newport station.

Newport
General information
Other names	Casnewydd
Location	Newport
Managed by	Arriva Trains Wales
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	NWP
Key dates
18 June 1850	Opened
1880	Enlarged
1928	Enlarged

Gloucester–Newport line
Cross Country Route Gloucester River Severn Ledbury and Gloucester Railway Oakle Street Grange Court Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Rly Westbury-on-Severn Halt Newnham Ruddle Road Halt Forest of Dean Railway Awre for Blakeney Forest of Dean Central Railway Gatcombe Severn Railway Bridge Severn Bridge Sharpness branch line Lydney Junction │ Lydney Lydney Harbour Branch Dean Forest Railway (Severn and Wye Railway) Woolaston Wye Valley Railway Tutshill for Beachley Halt Chepstow East Chepstow Railway Bridge over River Wye England Wales Chepstow M48 motorway across Severn Bridge Bristol & South Wales Union Rly Portskewett (1863–1964) ("Portskewett Junction" 1863–1886) Portskewett (1850–1863) South Wales Main Line via Severn Tunnel Sudbrook Tunnel Pumps Caerwent Training Area Caldicot Severn Tunnel Junction M4 motorway Undy Halt Magor Llanwern steelworks Llanwern Uskmouth Power Station Welsh Marches line River Usk Monmouthshire Railway Newport South Wales Main Line

Newport railway station (Welsh: Casnewydd) is the 3rd busiest railway station in Wales (after Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street), situated in the heart of the city of Newport. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although First Great Western provide the majority of services. The main station entrance is located on Queensway, and a small section of road known as Station Approach links this to the High Street. The station was originally opened in 1850 by the South Wales Railway Company and was greatly expanded in 1928.

Although officially named Newport High Street, the suffix High Street became unnecessary on the closure of Mill Street and Dock Street stations to goods traffic in the 1960s. Printed tickets and National Rail enquiries use the suffix "South Wales" to differentiate this station from its namesake in Essex. Newport Unlimited have suggested the station is officially renamed Newport City railway station.

British Transport Police maintain a presence at Newport.

Services

Newport is currently served by three train operating companies: Arriva Trains Wales, CrossCountry and First Great Western.

• Arriva Trains Wales
  • 1tph to Manchester Piccadilly via Hereford and Shrewsbury. These services are from Carmarthen or Milford Haven, operated by Class 175 Coradia units.

• • 1tph to Carmarthen with a two-hourly extension to Milford Haven via Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath, Swansea, Llanelli and Pembrey and Burry Port. There is also one daily service to Pembroke Dock, departing Newport at 18:43. These services are from Manchester Piccadilly, operated by Class 175 Coradia units.

• • 1tp2h to Holyhead via Hereford, Shrewsbury, Wrexham General, Chester, Llandudno Junction and Bangor. These services are from Cardiff Central, operated by Class 175 Coradia units.

• • 1tp2h to Cardiff Central. These services are from Holyhead, operated by Class 175 Coradia units.

• • 1tph to Cheltenham Spa via Severn Tunnel Junction and Gloucester. These services are usually from Maesteg but come from destinations such as Swansea and Fishguard, operated by Class 150 'Sprinter units, Class 158 Express Sprinter units and Class 175 Coradia units.

• • 1tph to Maesteg via Cardiff Central and Bridgend. These services are usually from Cheltenham Spa but come from destinations such as the 06:27 and 12:38 services from Holyhead, operated by Class 150 'Sprinter units, Class 158 Express Sprinter units and Class 175 Coradia units.

• CrossCountry
  • 1tph to Nottingham via Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street and Derby. These services are from Cardiff Central, operated by Class 170 Turbostar units.

• • 1tph to Cardiff Central. These services are usually from Nottingham, operated by Class 170 Turbostar units, although there is one daily service at 20:49 from Manchester Piccadilly. This service is operated by a Class 221 SuperVoyager unit.

• • 1tpd to Manchester Piccadilly via Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport, operated by a Class 221 SuperVoyager unit.

• First Great Western
  • 2tph to London Paddington railway station via Bristol Parkway, Swindon, Didcot Parkway and Reading. These services are from Cardiff Central or Swansea as well as daily services from Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock, operated by Class 43 'High Speed Train InterCity 125 units.

• • 1tph to Swansea via Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath and Swansea, as well as daily extensions to Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock. These services are from London Paddington, operated by Class 43 'High Speed Train InterCity 125 units.

• • 1tph to Portsmouth Harbour via Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Westbury, Salisbury, Southampton Central, Fareham, Cosham, Fratton and Portsmouth and Southsea. These services are from Cardiff Central, operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units

• • 1tph to Taunton via Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare. These services are from Cardiff Central, operated by Class 150 'Sprinter units, Class 153 'Sprinter units and Class 158 Express Sprinter units as well as Class 67 loco-hauled trains.

• • 2tpd on Sundays to Brighton via Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Westbury, Salisbury, Southampton Central, Fareham, Cosham, Fratton, Havant, Chichester, Barnham, Worthing, Shoreham-by-Sea and Hove. These services are from Cardiff Central, operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Cardiff Central		Arriva Trains Wales Maesteg - Cheltenham		Severn Tunnel Junction
		Arriva Trains Wales Milford Haven/Carmarthen - Manchester Piccadilly		Cwmbran
		Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff - Holyhead		Cwmbran
Terminus		Arriva Trains Wales Ebbw Valley Line Due to re-open in 2010		Pye Corner
Cardiff Central		CrossCountry Cardiff - Nottingham		Gloucester or Severn Tunnel Junction
		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Severn Tunnel Junction
Bristol Parkway		First Great Western London - Cardiff / Swansea		Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central		First Great Western Cardiff - Taunton		Severn Tunnel Junction
		First Great Western Cardiff - Westbury/South Coast		Filton Abbey Wood

History

British Railways Western Region "totem" sign for Newport High Street.

Looking west from Platform 2

The current station layout consists of four through-platforms numbered 1 to 4 from the south side. The original broad gauge station had only two 200ft-long through platforms and a bay platform at the east end of the down platform. On the closure of Dock Street and Mill Street stations to passengers in 1880, High Street station was greatly expanded: The up platform was made into an island - the north face 825ft in length, and the south side 814ft. The down platform was extended to 897ft with the west end bay extended to 428ft. Two scissors crossovers were provided on these new platforms, effectively dividing them into two. The original down platform became Nos. 1 and 2. The bay became No. 3, the south face of the up platform Nos. 4 and 5 and the north face Nos. 6 and 7. The bay platform was mostly used for Monmouthshire western valleys services, but with the quadrupling of the line in 1912 trains from the bay platform (on the south side) now had to cross the entire station to get to the Gaer Tunnel on the north side. To address this the former loading dock on the north side of the station was made into a passenger platform (No. 8).

April 1961 saw the introduction of colour Multiple-Aspect Signalling and associated modifications to the station layout. The north face of the island platform became the new up platform, with the south face becoming the new down. The platforms were also renumbered in the opposite direction, with No. 8 becoming No. 1, Nos. 6/7 becoming 2/3, Nos. 4/5 remained the same and Nos. 1/2 were combined as a new No. 6. Subsequent removal of the scissors crossovers saw a further combination and renumbering of platforms to the current layout.

Facilities

The "Archform" sculpture in the station forecourt on the site of the old west-facing bay platform

Platform 1 is generally only used during peak hours and usually for trains heading towards Cardiff Central. Platform 2 is the usual stopping point for all westbound services towards Cardiff Central including First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales services continuing to Swansea. Platform 3 is the stopping point for eastbound trains to London Paddington and services to the South of England, Bristol Temple Meads, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Manchester, North Wales and the Midlands. Platform 4 is the stopping point for Arriva Trains Wales services to Gloucester and First Great Western services to Weymouth and will also be used by trains to Ebbw Vale following the full re-opening of the Ebbw Valley Line.

A British Transport Police station and a branch of WH Smith are situated on platform 1. The waiting room and customer toilets are situated between platforms 2 and 3, as is the Upper Crust café. Also between platforms 2 and 3 is a customer help desk. The booking hall is situated between the main entrance and platform 1. There are three main windows for tickets for immediate travel and a travel centre which handles enquiries, complaints and issues tickets for future travel. In the booking hall there is also a small buffet, telephones, automatic ticket machines and a photo booth. Wheelchair access between platforms is provided by a subway, accessed by a lift from the platforms. Also, a ramp from platforms 2 and 3 leads into a subway that links Mill Street to the city centre. There is a short-stay car park and taxi rank situated to the front and a long-stay car park to the rear which is accessible via a footbridge from all platforms. Since October 2005, automatic ticket barriers have been installed. In November 2006, Arriva installed alarms on the fire doors in the subway, which was commonly used as a method of avoiding ticket purchasing. As these doors lead straight into a public subway under the station, the ticketless customer would avoid the automatic ticket barriers. At the same time, the ticket barriers are being used more often, before used during peak periods and match days, now manned throughout the day until late in the evening.

In October 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government announced the launch of a new faster services between Cardiff and North Wales. The service which departs Cardiff at 16:20, and Newport 16:35 is operated by Arriva Trains Wales using locomotives and Mark II passenger rolling stock. The service has premier business-class accommodation.

2007 development

The Welsh Assembly Government and Network Rail agreed a £20 million makeover for the station that provided a new concourse, a second pedestrian bridge over the tracks and a user-friendly bus-rail interchange at the station. The plans also included an extended platform 4 capable of accommodating up to twelve-carriage intercity trains and a new multi-storey car park for long-stay travellers. Unfortunately, the redevelopment of Platform 4 did not allow for disabled access, resulting in station staff using a locally-contracted taxi firm at £3 a passenger to move disabled and elderly passengers the half-mile from one side of the station to the other, in a complimentary service provision. The first phase, platform 4 extension, was completed on 2 July 2007.

2009 development

Planned to enable the station to cope with passenger traffic associated with the 2010 Ryder Cup, a second passenger bridge linking the whole station with a lift for platform4, a new bus station developed and a 250 car capacity multi-storey car park. Network Rail claimed accessibility and safety are at the heart of the new design. The new bridge will be clad in ethylene tetra fluoro ethylene (ETFE), the material which protects the Eden Project in Cornwall. Started in July 2009 and planned to take 11months, the completed station will run to some 2,100 square metres (23,000 sq ft).

Ebbw Vale services

Phase two of the Ebbw Valley Line project will see the restoration of direct trains between Newport and Ebbw Vale and will resurrect the suburban rail link with Rogerstone. In March 2008 following the outstanding success of phase one, the Welsh Assembly Government's Minister for Economy and Transport launched a feasibility study into the restoration of direct trains. Significant works need to be carried out including the re-instatement of a set of points, re-furbished track, new signals at the Gaer and Park junctions as well as track extensions between Crosskeys and Llanhilleth. It looks more than likely than any upgrades will be conducted during the Newport area re-signalling works between 2009 and 2012 for cost reasons. Welsh Assembly Members Rosemary Butler, John Griffiths and Irene James have all been vocal supporters of the project and have raised the provision of the link to the Assembly Minister for Economy and Transport. The Welsh Assembly Government has offered the assurance that the project is a top priority subject to a feasibility study. Any future development of Newport to Ebbw Vale will be published later in 2008 in the Welsh Assembly Government's transport plan.

Future developments

The whole Newport area will be re-signalled in 2009-2012 which will include speed upgrades on the relief lines. The Welsh Assembly Government working with Sewta is also looking to provide an additional service (1 in every 2 hours) to Abergavenny with a re-opened station in Caerleon. This would mean that there would be two trains per hour between Cwmbran and Abergavenny and an hourly service to Pontypool and New Inn. Provision of this project would be subject to line enhancements in Abergavenny.

See also

• Railway stations in Newport
• Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway
• Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway
• List of railway stations in Wales

References

• South Wales Main Line - Newport ISBN 1874103763

External links

• Monmouthshire Railway Society
• This is Newport
• Newport City News

• Train times and station information for Newport railway station from National Rail