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Llandudno - Utter Disgrace

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Masboroughlad

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I have taken my dad for a day out on the train today. We headed for Llandudno. Great day, trains reasonably well behaved (EMT and ATW) but I have to say what an utter disgrace and embarrassment Llandudno station is.

I can imagine in its day, it was very grand? Now it is just awful. Derelict platforms and infrastructure, toilets and waiting room that close at 2.30pm, a small area under cover - just horrid.

What image does this give to people arriving in the resort for the first time?

Arriva Trains Wales (and I am sure, those before you) should be totally ashamed and embarrassed. You should be made to make this place more presentable.
 

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VTPreston_Tez

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Personally I like Llandudno, very quirky and well spaced out. My only problem is drink prices but this is a problem at other major ATW stations like Chester as well.
 

emoaconr

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It is supposed to be under rennovation soon. There's a new glass concourse/taxi rank area that's supposed to be developed along with the new waiting areas.

The (now demolished) building on the left hand side was in a dire state of repair for decades, I've not been there since its bit the dust but I think I prefer it with it there!

Its a shame really; even as late as the early 90's, most of Llandudno's platforms were within the train shed. The current remnant of the over-all roof is absolutely pointless and now serves no purpose whatsoever.
 

Masboroughlad

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It is supposed to be under rennovation soon. There's a new glass concourse/taxi rank area that's supposed to be developed along with the new waiting areas.

The (now demolished) building on the left hand side was in a dire state of repair for decades, I've not been there since its bit the dust but I think I prefer it with it there!

Its a shame really; even as late as the early 90's, most of Llandudno's platforms were within the train shed. The current remnant of the over-all roof is absolutely pointless and now serves no purpose whatsoever.

Can you point me in the direction of any artists impressions of how it will look please? Or some pics of how it used to look? ATW need a rocket behind them to get this sorted.
 

David Goddard

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We went to Llandudno on Tuesday morning and felt just the same.
It wouldnt take much even if they just gave it a lick of paint.
Compare with other seaside terminals (yes there are probably others that are in a similar state ,Skegness for example) but this must rank along the worst. I was in Cleethorpes a couple of years back and even that looked better than this.
 

ChristopherJ

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FYI, the derelict parts of the station (such as the abandoned platform) may not be a part of ATW's property but in fact Network Rail.

I know of several Rail User Groups who have demanded the TOCs to clear the track and/or disused structures at certain locations of rubbish and litter but have received reply that those areas are not a part of the station premises they operate and therefore cannot access. If they want it done they have to contact NR.
 

Masboroughlad

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FYI, the derelict parts of the station (such as the abandoned platform) may not be a part of ATW's property but in fact Network Rail.

I know of several Rail User Groups who have demanded the TOCs to clear the track and/or disused structures at certain locations of rubbish and litter but have received reply that those areas are not a part of the station premises they operate and therefore cannot access. If they want it done they have to contact NR.

Problem of today's railway - buck passing!

At the end of the day - it is a shambolic mess and needs sorting!
 

fgwrich

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The Welsh government confirmed a few months ago that £3.5 million has been allocated for the project http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...MP-PLAN-UNVEILED-165a/SearchCategoryID-7.aspx

Good, but i'd like to hope that it would include some part of the restoration and extention of the roof - I last went to Llandudno back in 2009 on one of the UKRailtours trips (in fact, thats 67001 in the press picture too!) and felt that the station was something of a disgrace too, especially for such a rather attractive town with what was once a rather attractive station.

Do we know what actuall work will take place during this refurbishment? As the last time i was up there, there was talk about removing either part of, or in full the original LNWR Spine wall?
 

Clip

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FYI, the derelict parts of the station (such as the abandoned platform) may not be a part of ATW's property but in fact Network Rail.

I know of several Rail User Groups who have demanded the TOCs to clear the track and/or disused structures at certain locations of rubbish and litter but have received reply that those areas are not a part of the station premises they operate and therefore cannot access. If they want it done they have to contact NR.


All of it is NR property.
 

pemma

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Derelict platforms and infrastructure

So if the platforms and infrastructure are surplus to requirements with the current service level what do you think should be done with them?

Should funding be acquired to maintain them instead of spending it elsewhere even though they aren't required?

Should the surplus be removed and then if it is required again in 10 years time spend money putting it all back again instead of just renovating and reinstating what is already there?
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Should the surplus be removed and then if it is required again in 10 years time spend money putting it all back again instead of just renovating and reinstating what is already there?

I really think you have to go back to the days when Llandudno was served by a very large number of excursion trains, in addition to the service trains, in the days when the vast majority of holidaymakers visiting the resort came by train. That capacity was needed then. Can you envisage any service improvements in the coming years ?

With seaside terminal stations in mind, the same historical case can be applied to Blackpool and in a lesser case, to Scarborough, Morecambe and Southport. Blackpool having more than one terminal station, solved part of the problem by the total eradication of Blackpool Central station with its 14 platforms in 1964.
 

142094

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All of it is NR property.

However, there will be a certain limit on what ATW can do, and their remit will only cover day to day maintenance and cleaning, whereas Network Rail will be responsible for the bigger works and anything that is on the tracks.
 

DynamicSpirit

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With seaside terminal stations in mind, the same historical case can be applied to Blackpool and in a lesser case, to Scarborough, Morecambe and Southport. Blackpool having more than one terminal station, solved part of the problem by the total eradication of Blackpool Central station with its 14 platforms in 1964.

That would be 'solved' in sense of 'solving' a broken window by demolishing your entire house
 

exile

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Was it really sensible to have acres of excursion platforms in the centre of town which would only be utilised in July and August?
 

Welshman

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They were also well used during the Illuminations period from September to November, and during the Easter & Whitsuntide weekends.

There were many day excursions to Blackpool from South and West Yorkshire and the Midlands before the current motorway links were built, and when there was plenty of surplus stock being held in carriage sidings in various places.
 

Furrball

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The amount of people that used the railways to visit the seaside was of epic proportions in the past. Pretty much all of the Burton brewery workers and their families would head to the seaside en-masse. I seem to recall reading that the number of trains departing Burton on Trent alone at this time was huge.
 

John55

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I really think you have to go back to the days when Llandudno was served by a very large number of excursion trains, in addition to the service trains, in the days when the vast majority of holidaymakers visiting the resort came by train. That capacity was needed then. Can you envisage any service improvements in the coming years ?

With seaside terminal stations in mind, the same historical case can be applied to Blackpool and in a lesser case, to Scarborough, Morecambe and Southport. Blackpool having more than one terminal station, solved part of the problem by the total eradication of Blackpool Central station with its 14 platforms in 1964.

If Llandudno had the number of passengers as Southport or Blackpool North then this thread would probably not exist! Sadly the better comparison is with terminals like Lowestoft, Skegness, Morecambe or Whitby. In comparison with those stations Llandudno while still depressing somehow seems less awful.
 

DynamicSpirit

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Out of interest - what is the 2nd picture doing on the nationalrail.co.uk website? I was curious because I've never noticed pictures of stations on the site before, so I just experimentally tried to find a way to browse to the link from the http://www.nationalrail.co.uk home page so I could see what page the image was on, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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That would be 'solved' in sense of 'solving' a broken window by demolishing your entire house

It very much suited the local councillors in power in Blackpool at that time who saw how much more the land occupied by Blackpool Central was worth. The original station closure plan was for Blackpool North to be the station proposed for closure, but when councillors band together and act in conjunction, many things can change.

The fact that the raison d'etre of the councillors plan did not come to its supposed fruition is one now enshrined in the developmental history of the central Blackpool area.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
If Llandudno had the number of passengers as Southport or Blackpool North then this thread would probably not exist! Sadly the better comparison is with terminals like Lowestoft, Skegness, Morecambe or Whitby. In comparison with those stations Llandudno while still depressing somehow seems less awful.

I see what you say and recently visited the former Morecambe Promenade station, which is now a place to eat in, whereas Morecambe Euston Road also met the same fate as Blackpool Central. Morecambe was originally intended to be a holiday resort for the West Yorkshire towns and cities, which the railway companies at the time saw as a market well worth tapping into once established, hence the amount of monies invested in the building of the long connectional railway line to there. The station facilities now provided for visitors to Morecambe are sparse and utilitarian to say the least. My main posting was to convey the immense train use to seaside resorts up to the early 1950's, which is still well within my personal experiences, being someone who has attained the age of 67.

One good thing to occur at Morecambe in recent times was the bringing back to life by Urban Splash of the art-deco Midland Hotel that was built in 1933 by the LM & S Railway and having recently stayed there, my wife and I can vouch for the sympathetic tastefully produced standard of the refurbishment works.
 
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JoeH

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Tiny Tim

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Whatever the plans for renovation there's no excuse for allowing Llandudno Station to fall into such a shambles. It's still a working station, Network Rail should be ashamed of themselves.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Are my eyes deceiving me, or does that sign really say "CROESO I LLANDUDNO"? :shock:

(For non-Welsh speakers, the correct Welsh for "WELCOME TO LLANDUDNO" is "CROESO I LANDUDNO", with just one L).

Llan is a correct word building prefix meaning sacred enclosure or church, as far as I remember. The ancient church of St Tudno is in a sheltered hollow on the northern side of the Great Orme. which also features in the name of this settlement.
 
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Masboroughlad

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Whatever the plans for renovation there's no excuse for allowing Llandudno Station to fall into such a shambles. It's still a working station, Network Rail should be ashamed of themselves.

Well said!

Can you imagine how people would feel arriving at an airport in such a state? Or service station on the motorway?

If we ever want more people to use trains on all lines again, stations need to be attractive. If you were trying the train for the first time at Llandudno, would you really get a good first impression. No. Might think twice about using it again.
 

ainsworth74

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Just so we're clear but the suggestion is that Network Rail should be expending its precious resources on ensuring that every single platform in the country is clean and tidy even if there is little or no likelihood of that platform being used in the near future? That is where people would like Network Rail to expend its efforts?
 

Squaddie

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Llan is a correct word building prefix meaning sacred enclosure or church, as far as I remember. The ancient church of St Tudno is in a sheltered hollow on the northern side of the Great Orme. which also features in the name of this settlement.
Yes, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that the correct Welsh for Welcome to Llandudno is Croeso i Landudno, with just one L. (Soft mutation of Ll following the preposition).

My query is simply whether the sign in that photograph has one L or two, as it's not entirely clear.

If we ever want more people to use trains on all lines again, stations need to be attractive. If you were trying the train for the first time at Llandudno, would you really get a good first impression. No. Might think twice about using it again.
I couldn't agree more. Too many British railway stations are in a disgraceful state and undoubtedly discourage people from travelling by train.
 
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