Shrewsbury to Chester Line

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Shrewsbury-Chester Line

Principal stations (from south to north)

Shrewsbury
for Welsh Marches Line
for Heart of Wales Line
for Cambrian Line
for Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line
Gobowen
Chirk
Ruabon
Wrexham General
for Borderlands Line
Chester
for West Coast Main Line
for Wirral Line
for North Wales Coast Line
for Mid-Cheshire Line

The Shrewsbury to Chester Line, also known as the Severn - Dee Line (after the rivers on which Shrewsbury and Chester stand), was built in 1846 as the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. The engineer for the line was a Mr Robertson while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson^[1].

It became part of the Great Western Railway's main line from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside until nationaliation when it was part of the Western Region until later transferred to the London Midland Region of British Railways. It runs from Shrewsbury in England to Chester, also in England. Of the intermediate stations, Gobowen is in England but the remainder are in Wales.

The towns served by the lines are listed below.

Passenger trains along the line are operated by Arriva Trains Wales. At Chester, there are connections to Crewe, Northwich, Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool and along the North Wales Coast Line to Holyhead. At Shrewsbury, connections are provided with lines to Welshpool, Aberystwyth, Pwllheli, Swansea, Hereford and the Welsh Marches Line, Cardiff, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester.

[edit] Growth in services

Arriva Trains Wales in December 2005 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. The line has seen passenger numbers double during 2003/2004 and increase by 300 percent since 1999.

In 2006 the Wrexham Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company (WSMR) was formed, with the aim of providing direct services to and from London.

[edit] References

^ Helps, Arthur The Life and Works of Mr Brassey, 1872 republished Nonsuch, 2006. p. 107 ISBN 1845880110

edit Railway lines in Central England:
Main lines:	Cross-Country Route Midland Main Line West Coast Main Line Birmingham-Peterborough via Leicester Line Birmingham-Worcester via Bromsgrove Line Birmingham-Worcester via Kidderminster Line Cherwell Valley Line Chiltern Main Line London-Aylesbury Line Trent Valley Line Welsh Marches Line Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Line
Commuter lines:	Birmingham-Walsall-Rugeley "Chase" Line Birmingham-Stratford Line Coventry-Nuneaton Line Cross-City Line Erewash Valley Line Leicester-Loughborough "Ivanhoe" Line Northampton Loop Line Robin Hood Line Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line Stourbridge Junction-Stourbridge Town Line Walsall-Wolverhampton Line
Rural lines:	Cotswold Line Crewe-Derby Line Derwent Valley Line Leamington-Stratford Line Marston Vale Line Nottingham-Lincoln Line Nottingham to Grantham Line Oxford-Bicester Line Princes Risborough-Aylesbury Line Shrewsbury-Chester Line
Freight lines:	South Staffordshire Line Sutton Park Line

edit Railway lines in Wales:
Main lines:	Gloucester-Newport Line North Wales Coast Line Shrewsbury-Chester Line South Wales Main Line Welsh Marches Line


Valley lines:		Butetown Branch	City Line	Coryton Line	Ebbw Valley Line	Maesteg Line
Valley lines:		Merthyr Line	Rhondda Line	Rhymney Line	Vale of Glamorgan Line


Rural lines:	Borderlands Line Cambrian Line Conwy Valley Line Heart of Wales Line West Wales Line