Welshpool railway station (Welsh: Y Trallwng) is a railway station on the Cambrian Line, in Powys, mid-Wales. It serves the town of Welshpool.
History
Built by the Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway, it opened on 27 January 1862. Operated by the London and North Western Railway, the line was eventually absorbed by the Cambrian Railways. After grouping in 1923, it became part of the Great Western Railway.
Midland Counties Dairy bought and operated the creamery at Kirkewydd. A siding from the station gave access for milk trains to the creamery.
About 100 metres north of the station were exchange sidings with the narrow gauge Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway which opened for freight traffic in 1903 and closed in 1956 with a separate station serving passenger traffic until 1931. The last remains of this station and the site of the railway were obliterated by the construction of the new A483 road.
Present
After some severe rationalisation under the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, development of the A483 road meant a need to shift the railway line south. To enable this, in the 1990s the old station was closed, and a new single island platform constructed south of it, to allow realignment.
The modern station is reached by a large pedestrian bridge over the eastbound railway line and the A483. It has no facilities beyond a small shelter and benches. The old station can still be seen across the road, and has been converted into a mill shop and cafe.
The passing loop was later extended to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to allow for an hourly train service, and to reduce the impact of delays on the line.
The station was used by HM Queen Elizabeth II when she came on an official visit to the town on 28 April 2010. She arrived and departed on the Royal Train.