Transport for Wales hails growth in passenger numbers at its first new station
New figures have been published confirming the increase in passenger numbers using what was the first brand new station opened under Transport for Wales.
Bow Street Transport Interchange was completed in 2021 as the result of more than a decade of work and campaigning by local groups in Ceredigion.
During 2021/22 it saw 12,563 passenger journeys, which grew to 23,156 the following year, helped by the reduction of Covid-19 restrictions.
The most recent data has been confirmed that more than 29,000 used the station in 2023/24, an average of 2,300 per month.
Positive
Transport for Wales Station Manager David Crunkhorn said it was “great to see its ongoing success”.
He said: “Customers have been really positive about it and certainly we seem to see a lot of people using it particularly to get into Aberystwyth where parking in the town can be limited.
“We were really proud that the first new station as Transport for Wales was here on the Cambrian line and it is great to see its ongoing success.”
The station has a free 70 space car park covered by CCTV as well as cycle parking provision.
Customers using it can connect onto the T-2 bus route which connects Aberystwyth to Bangor, as well as local bus routes.
Construction
Tirymynach ward councillor Paul Hinge was heavily involved in the campaign for the station which eventually culminated in the Welsh Government commissioning a study into the reopening of the station and securing funding from the Department for Transport for its construction.
He said: “People are definitely using it more and more, not just from the village of Bow Street but from communities like Penrhyncoch, Talybont and beyond.
“A big part of that is the free car park and many people will prefer to travel from here when heading to Birmingham or London because they know they can leave their car safely.
“For me it was a real labour of love as my father-in-law worked on the railway for about 50 years and he asked me to push for this shortly before he died.”
The local community has also benefitted from improvements to Active Travel connections within Bow Street and the neighbouring community of Penrhyncoch via Aberystwyth University’s Plas Gogerddan campus.
According to Ceredigion County Council, these new shared use pedestrian and cycle routes were completed in 2021/22 and are now very well used.
Usage figures from Bow Street show that 34% of all journeys starting at the station were to Aberystwyth, followed by 13% to Shrewsbury, 8% to either Birmingham New Street or Birmingham International and 7% to London.
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Positive news, the integration of successful cycling, pedestrian routes and bus services alongside this new station is wonderful to see. An indication of foresight and intelligent planning by the sounds of things (historically in short supply)!
Could this be a perfect example of “If you build it they will come”?
What if the north south link to Aberystwyth was built – would we see a similar rejuvenation in local economies and communities, more jobs, greater social integration and sustainable travel and tourism?
A future park and ride, this must be a boost to linking up the west coast and a through rail across the Dyfi for the north-south link…
If you transport back to the C18 Abermaw and all the other ports were the gateway to the rest of the world and back without going through Dol or Mach…
The west coast really is Cymru’s front…
Very nice to have an increase in numbers at one station – but what about the rest? The shambolic service on rural railways such as the Heart of Wales line is not encouraging but discouraging passengers. With third rate, ancient cattle trucks – also known as Class 153 units – breaking down because they can’t climb the hill to Sugar Loaf or from Kucklas up to Llangynllo, the service cannot be relied upon and so people have given up using it. Today (Sunday) there are only two trains in each direction on Heart of Wales line. The second (and last)… Read more »
Add the reduced service on the Cambrian Line…
After the fanfare of the ‘new’ Barmouth Bridge which Rail Track were happy to spend £30 odd million on because the line is really important to the northwest but as the southeast have all the wealth and power (drained from the rest of Cymru) we pay the price…
2300 passengers a month?? That 75 a day, hardly inspiring. Half of them are probably on their return journey as well.
Positive news are you kidding 23000 passenger journeys, that’s a total of 64 a day, so 32 people going backwards and forwards from Bow St to Aberystwyth. At 5 million over the first two years of service, that’s £142 per trip. Great value for money!!!!