Shrewsbury to Chester Line | |
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Overview | |
Type | Heavy Rail |
System | National Rail |
Locale | Shropshire Cheshire West Midlands (region) Wrexham county borough Shrewsbury and Atcham North West England |
Termini | Shrewsbury Chester |
Stations | Gobowen, Chirk, Ruabon and Wrexham General |
Operation | |
Opened | 1846 |
Owner | Network Rail |
Operator(s) | Arriva Trains Wales, Virgin Trains |
Character | South to North |
Rolling stock | Class 150 Sprinter, Class 153 Super Sprinter, Class 158 Express Sprinter, Class 175 Coradia, Class 221 Super Voyager |
Technical | |
Line length | 84.38 miles (135.80 km) |
No. of tracks | Double track between Shrewsbury and Wrexham, Single track between Wrexham and Chester. |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (Standard gauge) |
Operating speed | 50mph, 70mph, (Formally 90mph). |
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Legend
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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]
Contents |
It became part of the Great Western Railway's main line from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside until nationalisation when it was part of the Western Region until later transferred to the London Midland Region of British Rail. It runs from Shrewsbury in England to Chester, also in England. Of the remaining intermediate stations, Gobowen is in England but the rest are in Wales. A campaign for the re-opening of Baschurch Station is now under way.[2]
The towns served by the lines are listed below.
Passenger trains along the line are operated by Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin Trains.
At Chester, there are connections towards Crewe and Holyhead (on the North Wales Coast Line), towards Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Bank Quay (on the Chester to Manchester Line), towards Manchester Piccadilly via Northwich (on the Mid-Cheshire Line) and towards Liverpool Lime Street (on Merseyrail's Wirral Line).
At Wrexham, there are connections towards Liverpool (change at Bidston) via The Borderlands line and London via the west coast mainline.
At Shrewsbury, connections are provided towards Carmarthen via Hereford and Cardiff Central and Manchester via Crewe (via the Welsh Marches Line), towards Aberystwyth and Pwllheli (on the Cambrian Line), towards Swansea (via the Heart of Wales Line) and towards Birmingham New Street or London Marylebone (via the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line).
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. The line has seen passenger numbers double during 2003–2004 and increase by 30% since 1999.
On 28 April 2008, Wrexham & Shropshire began providing services along the section of line between Wrexham General and Shrewsbury, continuing via the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line to London Marylebone. The service ceased on 28 January 2011.
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 Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).[3] In 2006, the Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership commissioned the Scott Wilson Report to assess the feasibility of certain enhancements to the service.[4] These include the re-opening of stations at Rossett and Johnstown & Hafod and the opening of a new station at Lache.
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