Swansea

:This page is about Swansea in Wales. For others, see Swansea (disambiguation).

Transport

Getting around

Swansea's main mode of local public transport is via buses. The Quadrant bus station in the city centre serves as the main bus transport hub. From here you can catch buses to just about all of Swansea's suburbs and surrounding villages. Bus frequencies vary from every 5 minutes during peak periods to well-populated local suburbs; to one or two buses a day for less densely populated areas. No night buses are available: services typically begin and 06:00 and end at 01:00 the next day. Typical standard tickets include single journey, return journey and weekly passes.

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Park and Ride services are operated from Landore and the Fabian Way. Frequent services operate from 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Saturdays from these secure car parks. During busy periods of the year, additional Park and Ride services are operated from the Brynmill recreation ground. Recently it was announced that a third Park and Ride site is to be established on Carmarthen Road (on the site of the old Mettoys factory) with an expected opening date during 2006.

Related Topics:
Park and Ride - Brynmill

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Numerous taxi firms operate in Swansea ranging from large professional outfits to small and cheap minicab firms. Vehicles include typical 3/4 seater family saloons, 5 seater London cabs and eight-seater mini-buses. For city centre shoppers, the main taxi rank is located next to St. Mary's church. For transport connections, taxi ranks are located at the Quadrant bus station and the High Street railway station. In addition, small taxi ranks are located at Castle Square and the Kingsway, providing a convenient if expensive way to get home after a good night out on the town.

Related Topics:
Taxi - Minicab - London cabs

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A promenade following part of the old Mumbles train route beside Swansea Bay serves as a cycle track and walkway. The "promenade" as locals refer to it, forms a very convenient cycle commuting route. It enjoys spectacular panaromic views of Swansea Bay. The Maritime Quarter and the Knab Rock near the Mumbles Pier form the ends of this route.

Related Topics:
Swansea Bay - Maritime Quarter - Mumbles

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At the heart of the Clyne Valley Country Park is the Clyne Valley Cycle Track, part of National Cycle Route 4. This track connects Blackpill with Gowerton, cutting through much tranquil woodland. Dunvant and Upper Killay are villages on this route.

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On the east bank of the River Tawe is a cycle track (National Cycle Route 43) and foot path. This route terminates at the Quay Parade road bridge and Pentre-Chwyth roundabout. On this route you can see much of the River Tawe and the industrial ruins at Hafod.

Related Topics:
River Tawe - National Cycle Route

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Present-day

Swansea is on the mainline railway. Its High Street railway station is part of the South Wales Main Line railway line, a branch of the Great Western Main Line, and also gets Arriva services on their way to west Wales: Carmarthen, Milford Haven and Haverfordwest. The Heart of Wales train service begins (or terminates, depending on your point of view) at High Street station, its bright orange and yellow carriage travelling via Gowerton to Llanelli where it joins the Heart of Wales line. Arriva operate the regular direct service from Swansea to Manchester Piccadilly via the Welsh Marches Line.

Related Topics:
High Street railway station - South Wales Main Line - Great Western Main Line - Arriva - West Wales - Carmarthen - Milford Haven - Haverfordwest - Heart of Wales - Welsh Marches Line

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Swansea is close to the M4 motorway (junctions 42 to 48 inclusive), the main artery for road traffic through south Wales.

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It is a National Express stop, and for a short while was on the Megabus route. The Swansea-Cardiff shuttle bus is heavily used. Swansea is also on the Traws-Cambria route which connects the north and south of the country together via Aberystwyth, a bus so well-known in Wales that songs have been written about it. The local commercial bus companies include FirstCymru. Some rural routes in the local authority area are funded by the council; this includes the majority of the services on Gower, for example, which are operated by Pullman Coaches under the brandname of 'Gower Explorer' with its distinctive Ray Stenning-designed livery.

Related Topics:
National Express - Megabus - Cardiff - Traws-Cambria

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Swansea Airport is situated on Fairwood Common on Gower. It is primarily a domestic airport. It was first built during WWII when there was no need for an inquiry. Air Wales operated services from Swansea, but ceased to use the airport from late 2004.

Related Topics:
Swansea Airport - Gower - WWII - Air Wales - 2004

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Some submarine communications cables leave the mainline of Great Britain from Oxwich Bay on Gower.

Related Topics:
Submarine communications cable - Great Britain - Oxwich Bay - Gower

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There is a thriving passenger ferry service between Swansea and Cork, one of the cities with which it is twinned.

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Much of the apparently baffling design of the public transport system (a bus and train station two miles apart, for example, with until recently minimal connection between the two) results from historical legacy.

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Historically

See History of Swansea for a more detailed account of the evolution of the transport system.

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Railway lines and their predecessors for the purposes of transporting coal and heavy goods proliferated in the 19th century. The world's oldest passenger railway, the Mumbles Railway, began as a tramway line in the 1800s for transporting heavy goods, with a branch line up into Clyne valley to connect with the colliery owned by Sir John Morris, one of the founders of the railway. A few tourists had been carried by the railway in the early days, but a scheduled passenger service only began around 1860. The Mumbles Railway was closed in 1960.

Related Topics:
19th century - Mumbles Railway - 1800s - 1860 - 1960

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Also used to transport goods rather than people were waterways such as the Swansea Canal.

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Swansea was also served by a network of trams, one of which connected the (still-used) High Street railway station with Victoria Station near the Slip on the bay. Some of Swansea was impossible to provide tram services to: the attempt to run a tram up and down the locally infamous slope of Constitution Hill, for example, quickly foundered.

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Swansea was the terminus for Travelling Post Office trains to London until January 2004, when the Royal Mail ceased operating the Travelling Post Office network. The mail train was regularly seen in the siding and station and it was possible to post letters directly onto the train. After the cessation of the TPO, the mail train was left to rust quietly in the sidings outside High Street station. EWS and Royal Mail later restarted TPO services but not into Swansea.

Related Topics:
2004 - Royal Mail - Mail train - EWS

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In 1944 the world's first test of a full-scale submarine oil pipeline was conducted on a pipeline laid between Swansea (Queen's Dock) and Cornwall in Operation Pluto.

Related Topics:
1944 - Operation Pluto

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