No mainline train reaches the foot of the paths. The rail lines reach Bangor and Betws-y-Coed, and the Sherpa’r Wyddfa bus carries you on to the path starts.
Transport for Wales, the public body that runs Welsh rail, has station pages for both towns. The Eryri National Park Authority, the public body that runs the park, describes the bus links.
It does so in its guide to Yr Wyddfa, the Welsh name for Snowdon.
Sherpa’r Wyddfa is the bus network the park recommends for reaching the path starts. The Welsh Highland Railway has a station at Rhyd Ddu, where the Rhyd Ddu Path starts.
The station-to-path table
Read the table from the left: your station, then the way on.
| Station | Line | Way on to the path |
|---|---|---|
| Betws-y-Coed | Conwy Valley Line | Bus S1 to Llanberis or Pen y Pass |
| Bangor | North West Coast line | Bus S2 to Llanberis or Pen y Pass |
| Caernarfon | No national rail station | Bus S1 to Llanberis, or S3 to Rhyd Ddu |
| Rhyd Ddu | Welsh Highland Railway | Named stop for the Rhyd Ddu Path |
| Porthmadog | National rail | Bus S4, then S3 at Beddgelert |
All bus routes and journey times come from the Authority’s guide and path pages.
Both were read on 7 October 2026.
From Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed station is on the Conwy Valley Line, according to Transport for Wales. The nearest bus stops are at the front of the station, so the change is short.
The National Park gives about 40 minutes by the S1 bus from Betws-y-Coed to Llanberis Interchange.
It gives about 20 minutes to Pen y Pass.
That covers two starts:
- Llanberis Path: get off at Llanberis Interchange.
- Pyg Track: get off at Pen-y-Pass, which the Authority names as the trailhead.
From Bangor
Bangor is on the North West Coast line, and Transport for Wales says buses leave from outside the booking hall.
The S2 bus is the link from Bangor to Llanberis and Pen y Pass.
The National Park gives about 50 minutes from Bangor to Llanberis Interchange. For the Pyg Track the Authority lists S2 from Bangor as well.
Which of these paths suits you is a separate question, covered in which path up Snowdon fits your fitness and the day.
The Welsh Highland Railway to Rhyd Ddu
The Welsh Highland Railway has a station at Rhyd Ddu. The Authority names Rhyd Ddu Station as the bus stop for the Rhyd Ddu Path.
Check the railway’s own timetable for the dates and times it runs.
From Caernarfon the Authority gives the S3 bus, about 20 to 25 minutes. From Porthmadog it lists S4, changing to S3 at Beddgelert.
The Cambrian Coast line
Transport for Wales lists Pwllheli as the end of the Cambrian Coast Railway.
Porthmadog also has a Transport for Wales station page, with onward bus services to Caernarfon and Beddgelert. For the south side of the park, Porthmadog is the place to change. You swap the national rail network for the S4 bus.
The S4 route on the Sherpa timetable links Pen-y-Pass, Beddgelert, Porthmadog and Morfa Bychan.
Reading the bus timetable
The Sherpa’r Wyddfa website shows five routes, S1 to S5, with “times from 28 March 2026” at the time of reading.
The timetables are published as PDFs on the Sherpa’r Wyddfa site. Read the frequency and the last bus there, not from memory.
- S1: Caernarfon, Llanberis and Betws-y-Coed.
- S2: Bangor, Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass.
- S3: Beddgelert, Caernarfon and Dinorwig.
- S4: Pen-y-Pass, Beddgelert, Porthmadog and Morfa Bychan.
- S5: Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass.
Traveline Cymru, now part of Transport for Wales, runs a journey planner for buses and trains together. Its phone line is 0800 464 00 00.
When a car is still simpler
The Authority says the car parks at the path starts have extremely limited capacity for parking. If you drive after all, parking in Snowdonia explains how full they get.
If you plan to walk up and ride the mountain railway down, coming down Snowdon by train covers that separately.
For a first outing, beginner walks in Snowdonia lists options that suit a short day.
We compile and explain public route and safety information. We guide nobody and sell nothing on the hill.
The day before you go, open the Sherpa’r Wyddfa timetable and the Welsh Highland Railway timetable and read the dates they apply to.
Write down the last bus back from your path start and plan your descent to reach it.
