Dovey Junction railway station

Dovey Junction (Template:IPAc-en ; Template:Langx) is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in Wales. It is the junction where the line splits into the line to Template:Rws and the Cambrian Coast Line to Template:Rws. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales. There is a single island platform.

The station is in Powys, about north-east of the junction of three counties: the current principal areas of Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd, corresponding to the traditional counties of Cardiganshire, Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire.

The station is in the midst of the large Dyfi National Nature Reserve, near the Cardigan Bay coast. There is no settlement here but, contrary to common belief, it is not completely isolated: a footpath provides passenger access to and from the hamlet of Glandyfi in Ceredigion, and to a main road (the A487).

History

The station was opened in 1863 as Glandovey Junction. It was renamed Dovey Junction in 1904.

The station has been rebuilt twice in recent years: the original Cambrian Railways buildings were first replaced in the 1970s by a flat-roofed station building. This building was subsequently replaced in the 1990s by a simple bus shelter, having fallen into a state of disrepair and being far larger than required at this remote location.

The station platforms were raised in 2008 in conjunction with raising of the tracks, to reduce the likelihood of closure of this section of line due to flooding. The work was part of a major programme of work on the Cambrian Line, including ERTMS signalling to replace the previous RETB system and an extended (dynamic) passing loop at Welshpool to permit running an hourly service from Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth in the future.

Dovey Junction is often quoted as a defining feature of the Great Western Railway in Wales: its inheritance of junctions in unlikely and inconvenient locations. Other examples are Moat Lane Junction, Talyllyn Junction, Afon Wen and Barmouth Junction (renamed Morfa Mawddach in 1960).

Services

File:158 Dovey Junction.jpg

A train bound for Birmingham International calls at Dovey Junction (2024)

Trains call at least every two hours in each direction throughout the day (Mon–Sat), rising to once an hour during the morning and afternoon peaks and into the early evening. Platform 2 (east side) is used by services to/from Template:Rws and Template:Rws and platform 1 (west side) by trains along the coast to Template:Rws and Template:Rws. Most trains serve both branches, with units joining or dividing at Template:Rws to make a 4-coach set east of there, though some trains (especially on Sundays) run between Birmingham or Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth only (some trains on both branches also start or end at Machynlleth). Platform 2 is split into 2a at the north end, alongside a passing loop, used by trains bound for Shrewsbury and Birmingham and 2b at the south end used by services bound for Aberystwyth allowing the branch to have a clock face hourly service at peak times.

On Sundays, there is a 2-hourly service between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth all year, plus three trains each way in summer to/from Pwllheli but just a single train each way in the winter months.

Template:Historical rail insert

Preceding station		National Rail National Rail		Following station
Borth		Transport for Wales Birmingham International-Aberystwyth		Machynlleth
Penhelig		Transport for Wales Shrewsbury-Pwllheli
Penhelig Line and station open		<div style="height:8px; background-color:#; color:inherit; border:none; margin:0 -5px -2px;">		Machynlleth Line and station open
Glandyfi Line open, station closed

External links

• Train times and station information for Dovey Junction railway station from National Rail