Dovey Junction railway station

Dovey Junction (/ˈdʌviː-/ DUH-vee-; Welsh: Cyffordd Dyfi) is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in Wales. It is the junction where the line splits into the line to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales. There is a single island platform.

Dovey Junction

Welsh: Cyffordd Dyfi
National Rail
Platforms 1 & 2a with 2b in the distance (2023)
General information
LocationDerwenlas, Powys
Wales
Coordinates52.564°N 3.924°W / 52.564; -3.924
Grid referenceSN697980
Managed byTransport for Wales
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeDVY
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Opened1863
Key dates
1 July 1904Renamed Dovey Junction
Passengers
2017/18Increase 4,434
 Interchange Increase 9,312
2018/19Increase 4,622
 Interchange Increase 9,321
2019/20Decrease 4,292
 Interchange Decrease 8,097
2020/21Decrease 1,692
 Interchange Decrease 920
2021/22Increase 7,030
 Interchange Increase 2,575
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is in Powys, about 440 yards (400 m) NE 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 0.6-mile (1 km) 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.[1]

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
A train bound for Pwllheli calls at Dovey Junction (2019)

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 Borth and Aberystwyth and platform 1 (west side) by trains along the coast to Barmouth and Pwllheli. Most trains serve both branches, with units joining or dividing at Machynlleth 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).[2]

On Sundays, there is a 2-hourly service between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth all year, plus 3 trains each way in summer to/from Pwllheli but just a single train each way in the winter months.

Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
Transport for Wales
Birmingham International-Aberystwyth
Transport for Wales
Shrewsbury-Pwllheli

References
  1. "Cambrian Railway Company. Alteration of Station Name". Montgomeryshire Echo. Wales. 16 July 1904. Retrieved 7 December 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. Table 76 National Rail timetable, May 2017

Further reading

Media related to Dovey Junction railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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