AFTER several years of concern about whether the town would lose its ticket office, Llandrindod Wells will soon have two locations where train tickets can be bought.

Spa town newsagents KDM Local has announced it has signed a deal with rail travel provider Transport for Wales (TfW) to offer train tickets for sale – with the service set to go live next month.

Commuters won’t have to go too far from the ticket office if they can’t get to the railway station during operational hours – KDM Local is situated on Station Crescent, a mere stone’s throw from the station.

“We are delighted to be joining forces with Transport for Wales to enable the purchase of train tickets from KDM Local,” said Kev Martin, owner of KDM Local, in a Facebook post.

Explaining the move further, he told the County Times: “The shop was approached by Transport for Wales to offer the selling of train tickets. 

“We at first rejected, as we didn't want to hinder the local ticket office. But, upon meeting with the rep for Transport for Wales she highlighted this service wouldn't mean the closure or loss of the local ticket office; it'd be a service to work in conjunction with.

“The lady at the local ticket office was aware and on board with this option as a way of extending the hours physical ticket purchasing would be available in the locality.

“We only signed the paperwork Friday (January 19), but will be getting a terminal installed which will enable us to process train ticket journeys. Once we've had training etc we'll go live and advise people of this as we know more.”

Kev pointed out that the shop will be offering sales only when the ticket office is closed. The Llandrindod ticket office is currently open between 8am and 3pm from Monday to Friday.

The news will come as a welcome relief to residents of the spa town and surrounding areas, following years of uncertainty surrounding the ticket office and its future.

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It’s already got the spa town buzzing, with Michael Hodges saying: “That will please a lot of people.”

Jenni Moorhouse said: “Wonderful news, thank you, KDM team are the best, Llan'dod is lucky to have you,” while Clarissa Jaye added: “That's a fantastic support for the train station, thank you.”

The ticket office provides a popular and valued service, even though, since early 2022, it has only operated a face-to-face service, with no phone or online purchase option.

In June last year the ticket office reopened, having been shut since February due to staffing issues.

The issues started back in December 2021 following the retirement of popular long-term ticket office manager Kelsham Hanna, who had run the ticket office for the best part of two decades.

Serving the Heart of Wales Line between Swansea and Shrewsbury and run by TfW, the ticket office has offered a crucial service for many years but, following Mr Hanna’s retirement, TfW initially announced it was going shut its doors for good.

After a brief closure period, however, a replacement staff member was recruited and the office reopened in February 2022. That staff member then left for a different job at the end of February 2023, meaning the ticket office was then forced to close again.

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TfW then recruited another person who was due to reopen the ticket office at the start of April, only for that person to leave during their training period – forcing TfW to go back through the recruitment and training process all over again.

The impending new service is yet another example of how KDM Local goes the extra mile for the Llandrindod community – quite literally.

Last February it announced it was offering a milk delivery service to customers who are already being served by their newspaper and magazine network – following the withdrawal of the local milk round a year earlier.

The ticket office in Llandrindod is one of a number of ways customers can now buy tickets. Although you can no longer phone or use the online purchase option in Llandrindod, people can also use the TfW app, website or buy tickets on the train on the Heart of Wales line.

Group tickets of 10 or more passengers can be purchased from the TfW business travel team.