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Milford Haven railway station serves the town of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Opened on 7 September 1863, it was originally known as ''Milford'', becoming ''Old Milford'' by January 1902, and finally being renamed ''Milford Haven'' by April 1910. It is the westernmost railway station in Wales, but not in Great Britain as some stations in Scotland are further west. == History == The first links to a railway to Milford Haven came through the completion of the South Wales Railway in 1856. Brunel had a vision of connecting London to New York via a railway through Wales and then to a commuter port. The initial plan was to terminate the line at Fishguard and to create a ferry service to Ireland. The failure to complete Irish rail links meant that the terminus was modified to a location on the Milford Haven waterway. 1854 saw track reach Haverfordwest, at which point a decision had to be made as to the terminus. New Milford at Neyland was selected, in spite of opposition from Greville, and was completed in April 1856.〔Wing Commander Ken McKay ''A Vision Of Greatness: The History of Milford 1790-1990'', Brace Harvatt Associates, 1989. ISBN 978-0-9515212-0-5〕 As a result, Greville determined to finance a project himself which would see the railway come to Milford Haven under the Milford Junction Railway, a four-mile spur from Johnston. Construction began in August 1856 and lasted five years, finally completed in 1863,〔James Frederick Rees ''The Story of Milford'', University Of Wales Press, 1954 ASIN B000MYZBCQ〕 when the line was connected to the South Wales Railway at Johnston, and a station at Milford was opened.〔 The line was, and remains, single track, but sufficient room was allowed in cuttings and under bridges for doubling the track if required.〔(Milford’s Railway: 150 years old ), ''Pembrokeshire Rail Travellers Association'', Article: Newsletter 100: April 2013, Gale, John, Retrieved 14 October 2013〕 The opportunity to provide a rival to the South Wales Railway by using Milford as a terminus to the Manchester and Milford Railway was also explored at this time.〔 Excavation work was necessary to provide an embankment upon which the approaching track could be laid skirting the shoreline of Hubberston Pill. Public services commenced 7 September 1863. Further track was laid towards the recently constructed docks complex in 1875. A spur to Newton Noyes, known as the 'Estate Line', was completed in 1882. It connected with a pier, which was reached via a lifting bridge at Castle Pill; the junction with the Milford line oppostite the station.〔〔("Vision of Britain Descriptive Gazetteer entry for MILFORD" ), Wilson, John Marius (1870-1872). Retrieved 9 October 2011〕 This development highlighted Milford station's less than favorable location, although equidistant between the two major populations of Milford and Hakin, it was at a distance from the quayside and with no discernible pedestrian access. To rectify the issue, the short-lived Hakin Dock Station was constructed in 1898.〔Parker, Richard, ''The Railways of Pembrokeshire'', Noodle Books, 2008. ISBN 978-1-906419-07-3〕 The original station was modest, with four sidings and a single platform, plus additional run around facilities sandwiched between the hillside and Hubberston Pill.〔Parker, Richard ''Neyland: A Great Western Outpost'', KRB Publications, 2002. ISBN 0-9542035-3-4〕 Initial services comprised a local service running back and forth between Milford and Johnston, where passengers could connect with Great Western services from New Milford.〔 By 1871, services had grown to seven daily in each direction, many connecting with passenger services from New Milford at Johnston.〔 The trains using the line were operated by Great Western Railway who had part funded the original railway.〔(laluciole.net: ''A history of Britain's broad gauge railways'' ) Retrieved 30 January 2010〕 It initially rented use of the line, although in 1896 absorbed The Milford Railway Company.〔Barrie, Derek ''A Regional History Of The Railway Of Great Britain: Vol. 12, South Wales'', Thomas & Lochar, 1994. ISBN 978-0-946537-69-3〕 In the 1930s many improvements were made, including narrowing the course of the Pill, extra side loops and goods yards. By 1923 the Milford Station Master was re-graded as a special class post, supported by twelve booking clerks and up to ten porters.〔 Up until 1947, three daily 'vacuum fish' express services transported fish from the Haven to various destinations in the UK, including London Paddington, Yeovil and the north of England.〔 Fish vans were often attached to passenger trains.〔Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, ''Carmarthen To Fishguard (Western Main Lines)'', Middleton Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-906008-66-6〕 Goods traffic remained dominant over passenger traffic until the commercial decline of the docks in the late twentieth century.〔Hakin CP Junior School ''Hakin: A Pictorial History'', C.I.T Print Services, Haverfordwest, 1998. ISBN 0-9529672-1-9〕 Into the twentieth century, direct services to London Paddington were in operation, and a sleeper service remained in place until the 1960s.〔 The sidings were reduced substantially in 1968, although goods traffic continued until the 1980s.〔 High speed train services from London Paddington to Milford ran until the early 1990s, terminating in 1994.〔〔(''Intercity Magazine Network Map 1993'' ) Retrieved 5 December 2012〕 Sealink operated a service to Dun Laoghaire briefly between 1978-79 from Milford.〔 A scheme to expand the freight capability at Milford Haven is under development, based on a new import facility for biomass and wood pellets for the energy market in England and Wales.〔(''Network Rail: Wales Route'' ) Retrieved 9 January 2013〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Milford Haven railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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