Shrewsbury–Chester line

Shrewsbury–Chester line
standard gauge
Operating speed	50 mph (80 km/h), 70 mph (110 km/h), 90 mph or 140 km/h.
Route map

v t e Shrewsbury–Chester line
Legend
Mid-Cheshire line to Northwich North Wales Coast Line to Crewe Chester–Warrington line to Warrington Bank Quay Chester Chester–Birkenhead line to Birkenhead Roodee Viaduct over River Dee Saltney Junction North Wales Coast Line to Holyhead Saltney Balderton Pulford England Wales Rossett Gresford to Brymbo Steelworks Wheatsheaf Junction Rhosrobin Halt Borderlands line to Bidston Wrexham General Borderlands line to Wrexham Central MVB, WM&CQR & W&MR to Croes Newydd Yard Rhos Junction Rhos Branch Rhos closed 1855   Johnstown and Hafod Wynnville Halt Ponciau Branch Garden Lodge Junction Ruabon Llangollen Junction Ruabon–Barmouth line to Barmouth Rhosymedre Halt Cefn Cefn Viaduct over River Dee Whitehurst Halt Kronospan Chirk Chirk Chirk Viaduct over River Ceiriog Wales England Trehowell Halt Weston Rhyn Gobowen former Cambrian Rlys to Oswestry   Whittington Low Level Rednal and West Felton Haughton Halt Stanwardine Halt Baschurch Oldwoods Halt Leaton Welsh Marches line to Crewe Shrewsbury River Severn Wolverhampton– Shrewsbury line Cambrian Line to Aberystwyth & Pwllheli Welsh Marches line to Hereford

The Shrewsbury–Chester line (

The line has six stations, equally distributed between England and Wales. There are proposals to open stations on the line in Baschurch (by re-opening Baschurch railway station)^[4] and in the north and south of Wrexham.^[5]

The line was formerly

The North Wales Mineral Railway, connecting Chester via Wrexham to Ruabon, had been constructed from 1844 to take advantage of mineral rights. However, realising that it offered connection opportunities between the Port of Liverpool and the industrialised Midlands, the railway applied to extend to Shrewsbury. This was refused by Parliament.

Forming an independent group of similar investors, a

The formation of the new company immediately led to a revision of the plans. Construction of a new line and junction south east from Chester was abandoned. The new company would only need to build a 30 mi (48 km) line between Shrewsbury and the North Wales Mineral line at Wrexham. Likewise when construction was completed by 1848, the final route also bypassed Oswestry (one of the scheme's original destinations). Instead the town would be served by a branch line between a halt in the town and Gobowen.

On 24 May 1847, five passengers were killed and many were injured in the

Mergers and nationalisation

In 1849 the larger

In 1948, following nationalisation of UK's rail system, the former GWR Shrewsbury–Chester line became part of the Western Region of British Rail. It was later transferred to BR's London Midland Region in 1963.

In the 1960s many of the passenger stations serving smaller communities along the line were closed. The track between Wrexham and Saltney Junction was also reduced from a double to a single line in 1983. There was a large reduction in freight traffic on the route as a result of the mineral industries around Wrexham closing in stages beginning with the Wrexham and Minera Railway in 1952 and then the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway in 1954 and the last section through Croes Newydd closed in 1982.

Services

Passenger

Passenger trains along the line are operated by Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast, who operate one train per day on weekdays each way between Wrexham General and London Euston, via Chester.

At Chester, there are connections towards

At Wrexham, there are connections towards Liverpool Central (change at Bidston) via the Borderlands line) and London via Chester and Crewe for the West Coast Main Line. Wrexham General also acts as a terminus for many services travelling part of the line.

At Shrewsbury, connections are provided towards

In December 2005, Arriva Trains Wales introduced a new timetable to the line, providing an hourly service between Shrewsbury and Chester, Monday to Saturday, from early morning until around midnight (involving eight additional trains serving Gobowen). This improved service includes a through train every two hours between Holyhead and Cardiff throughout most of the day.^[needs update]

On 28 April 2008,

Freight along the line is half transitory and half generated on the line. Padeswood Hall Cement works at Penyffordd does not send any of its finished product out by rail, but it does source its coal via Railfreight, mostly just once a week. Most often these trains are from Scotland and they run-round in Croes Newydd Loop south of Wrexham General station.^{[citation needed]}

DB Schenker haul two trainloads of Steel Coil per day from either Llanwern or Port Talbot Steelworks to Shotton steelworks on Deeside. The return empties are twice daily too.^{[citation needed]}

Kronospan's board factory at Chirk has inward flows of timber from Carlisle, Baglan Bay, Teignbridge and Ribblehead. Some of the traffic, especially from Ribblehead is seasonal and sporadic. All inbound flows must enter the works heading south and those leaving must head south too. This is because there is no cross over or run-round facility in the works sidings.^[16][17]

Community rail

The line is designated as a

In March 2012, the

In May 2019, two daily services between Wrexham General and Liverpool Lime Street via Chester and Runcorn were introduced by Transport for Wales, following the reinstatement of services on the Halton Curve.^[25][26]

Future developments

The Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership aims to promote travel along the line and to seek improvements to services and facilities. It is a member of the Community Rail Network.^[19] In 2006, the Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership commissioned the Scott Wilson Report to assess the feasibility of certain enhancements to the service.^[27] These include the re-opening of stations at Rossett and Johnstown & Hafod and the opening of a new station at Lache.

In 2021, Transport for Wales released their Metro Development Plan published in March 2021,

In November 2021, a housing development in Baschurch set land aside for a potential railway station on site, although funding for a station has not yet been secured.[4]

See also

• Map of places on 'Shrewsbury to Chester Line' compiled from this article^{[dead link]}

References