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Rail transport in Shropshire

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A DMU heads north towards Whitchurch and Cheshire on the Welsh Marches Line at Battlefield.

The English county of Shropshire has a fairly large railway network, with 19 National Rail stations on various national lines; there are also a small number of heritage and freight lines, including the famous heritage Severn Valley Railway running along its eastern border with Worcestershire.

The majority of the county's public rail services are run by Transport for Wales Rail; the remainder are run by West Midlands Trains (under their West Midlands Railway brand) and Avanti West Coast.

National Rail services

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Severn Bridge Junction, the busiest in the county, south of Shrewsbury railway station.

National Rail services in Shropshire are centred about Shrewsbury station (all other 'national rail' stations in Shropshire have a direct train service to Shrewsbury, which is the county town), which is managed by Transport for Wales. The station is at the junction of the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, Shrewsbury to Chester Line, the Welsh Marches Line (between Cardiff and Manchester) and the Cambrian Line (towards Welshpool). Craven Arms station is at the junction between the Welsh Marches Line and the Heart of Wales Line, although services on the Heart of Wales Line begin at Shrewsbury rather than Craven Arms itself. There are direct train services from Shrewsbury (and elsewhere in the county) to the cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff, as well as the port at Holyhead where regular ferries to Dublin depart.

There are no electrified railways, as such, in the county despite the surrounding railway nodes of Crewe, Chester and Wolverhampton all being electrified (the funicular Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, although electrically powered, is cable worked). This has meant that since the mid-1990s rail privatisation, there has been a reluctance to establish a direct service to London by the cross-country railway companies (previously British Rail ran direct trains from Shrewsbury to London), notably Virgin Trains West Coast who previously ran services to London Euston from the county in 2000. There was a direct service to London Marylebone, provided by the open-access company Wrexham & Shropshire, which operated from 28 April 2008 to 28 January 2011 and used diesel locomotives. On 11 December 2014, Virgin Trains recommenced direct services between Shrewsbury and London Euston.[1]

Freight only lines

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There are two freight only lines in operation in the Telford area. One is the line from Madeley Junction on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line to Ironbridge Power Station via the historic industrial area of Coalbrookdale. The other is the newly restored line from Wellington to the Telford International Railfreight Park in Donnington which links the Terminal at Donnington with the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line.

There is also the short Abbey Loop line in Shrewsbury which is generally only used by freight trains.

Historically, after the closure of the 'Potts' Line in 1960, the former Shrewsbury Abbey Station became an Esso oil terminal. The line utilised a short stub of the closed Severn Valley line from Sutton Bridge Junction before being reversed and switched towards the terminal. The terminal was closed in July 1988 and the line was subsequently removed.

The Gobowen to Blodwell line, which runs through Oswestry, has been a mothballed line since the 1980s. It previously served a small number of stone quarries in the area. In 2008 the line was bought by Shropshire County Council and will likely be used in part by the Cambrian Heritage Railways being set up in the area (by the Cambrian Railways Trust and Society, see Heritage section below) and also as a cycle path from Oswestry to Gobowen.

Former railways

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A steam charter train heads through Church Stretton on the Welsh Marches Line, passing a regular DMU service.

There are many closed lines in Shropshire, including

Many were closed in the 1960s, although the county did not fare too badly under Dr Beeching's massive nationwide railway cuts. The Heart of Wales Line was saved from closure. However, some previously major railway centres in the county, such as Oswestry, Newport and Market Drayton, now have no public railways.

Heritage railways

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The Shropshire-Worcestershire Severn Valley Railway, at Bridgnorth.

There are three heritage railways in Shropshire: the Severn Valley Railway from Bridgnorth en-route to Kidderminster (in Worcestershire), the Telford Steam Railway at Horsehay & Dawley, and two restored stretches of the Cambrian Railways, being run by Cambrian Heritage Railways between Oswestry and Weston Wharf, and between Llynclys South and Penygarreg Lane in Pant.

Cambrian Heritage Railways also (since taking on the former Cambrian Railway Society CRS) aims to restore part of the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway at Nantmawr for use as a heritage railway. The CHR have a second operating base at Oswestry railway station, with a small collection of locos and rolling stock.

As well as the heritage only lines, the national lines of Shropshire witness a regular number of special charter trains with heritage diesel and steam locomotives and historic carriage stock in operation.

Stations

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Here are listed the 19 National Rail stations in current use in the county.

Station Place 2015/16 usage[2] 2016/17 usage[2] 2017/18 usage[2] Managed by Co-ordinates Line Distance from Shrewsbury Platforms Request stop? DFT station category
Albrighton railway station Albrighton 95,322 99,380 98,972 West Midlands Trains 52°38′16″N 2°16′06″W / 52.63778°N 2.2683°W / 52.63778; -2.2683 (Albrighton) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 35 km (21+3⁄4 miles) 2 No F2
Broome railway station Broome / Aston on Clun 1,564 782 1,150 Transport for Wales 52°25′23″N 2°53′06″W / 52.423°N 2.885°W / 52.423; -2.885 (Broome) Heart of Wales 36.5 km (22+3⁄4 miles) 1 Yes F2
Bucknell railway station Bucknell 5,696 5,516 4,324 Transport for Wales 52°21′26″N 2°56′53″W / 52.3573°N 2.948°W / 52.3573; -2.948 (Bucknell) Heart of Wales 45.5 km (28+1⁄4 miles) 1 Yes F2
Church Stretton railway station Church Stretton 127,748 132,352 130,380 Transport for Wales 52°32′13″N 2°48′11″W / 52.537°N 2.803°W / 52.537; -2.803 (Church Stretton) Welsh Marches 20.5 km (12+3⁄4 miles) 2 No F1
Cosford railway station Cosford (alight for DCAE Cosford & Air Museum) 81,530 84,384 87,626 West Midlands Trains 52°38′41″N 2°18′00″W / 52.6448°N 2.3°W / 52.6448; -2.3 (Cosford) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 32.5 km (20+1⁄4 miles) 2 No F2
Craven Arms railway station Craven Arms 109,478 100,914 96,996 Transport for Wales 52°26′31″N 2°50′13″W / 52.442°N 2.837°W / 52.442; -2.837 (Craven Arms) Welsh Marches (junction with Heart of Wales) 32 km (20 mi) 2 No F1
Gobowen railway station Gobowen (alight here for a bus service to Oswestry) 213,900 221,138 218,684 Transport for Wales 52°53′37″N 3°02′14″W / 52.8935°N 3.0371°W / 52.8935; -3.0371 (Gobowen) Shrewsbury-Chester 28.5 km (17+3⁄4 miles) 2 No E
Hopton Heath railway station1 Hopton Heath 1,754 1,332 1,006 Transport for Wales 52°23′29″N 2°54′43″W / 52.3915°N 2.912°W / 52.3915; -2.912 (Hopton Heath) Heart of Wales 41 km (25+1⁄2 miles) 1 Yes F2
Knighton railway station Knighton2 21,626 20,714 21,440 Transport for Wales 52°20′42″N 3°02′31″W / 52.345°N 3.042°W / 52.345; -3.042 (Knighton) Heart of Wales 52.5 km (32+1⁄2 miles) 2 No F1
Ludlow railway station Ludlow 299,776 299,802 300,742 Transport for Wales 52°22′16″N 2°42′58″W / 52.371°N 2.716°W / 52.371; -2.716 (Ludlow) Welsh Marches 44 km (27+1⁄2 miles) 2 No E
Oakengates railway station Oakengates 55,830 59,006 67,408 West Midlands Trains 52°41′35″N 2°27′00″W / 52.693°N 2.450°W / 52.693; -2.450 (Oakengates) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 21.5 km (13+1⁄2 miles) 2 No F2
Prees railway station near Prees 6,674 6,838 7,374 Transport for Wales 52°53′57″N 2°41′22″W / 52.8992°N 2.6895°W / 52.8992; -2.6895 (Prees) Welsh Marches 22.5 km (14.0 mi) 2 Yes F2
Shifnal railway station Shifnal 144,532 166,046 181,702 West Midlands Trains 52°39′58″N 2°22′19″W / 52.666°N 2.372°W / 52.666; -2.372 (Shifnal) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 28 km (17+1⁄4 miles) 2 No F2
Shrewsbury railway station Shrewsbury 1,979,248 2,087,820 2,211,520 Transport for Wales 52°42′43″N 2°45′00″W / 52.712°N 2.75°W / 52.712; -2.75 (Shrewsbury) Junction of several lines n/a 5 No C1
Telford Central railway station Telford Town Centre 1,139,070 1,207,406 1,211,078 West Midlands Trains 52°40′52″N 2°26′28″W / 52.681°N 2.441°W / 52.681; -2.441 (Telford Central) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 23 km (14+1⁄4 miles) 2 No C2
Wellington (Shropshire) railway station Wellington 631,176 665,778 693,438 West Midlands Trains 52°42′05″N 2°31′01″W / 52.7015°N 2.517°W / 52.7015; -2.517 (Wellington) Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton 16 km (9.9 mi) 3 No E
Wem railway station Wem 100,678 105,044 110,636 Transport for Wales 52°51′22″N 2°43′08″W / 52.856°N 2.719°W / 52.856; -2.719 (Wem) Welsh Marches 17 km (10+3⁄4 miles) 2 No F1
Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station Whitchurch 125,430 138,246 140,746 Transport for Wales 52°58′05″N 2°40′18″W / 52.968°N 2.6716°W / 52.968; -2.6716 (Whitchurch) Welsh Marches 30 km (18+3⁄4 miles) 2 No F1
Yorton railway station Yorton / Clive 9,304 8,788 7,686 Transport for Wales 52°48′32″N 2°44′10″W / 52.809°N 2.736°W / 52.809; -2.736 (Yorton) Welsh Marches 11.5 km (7+1⁄4 miles) 2 Yes F2

1 Sometimes written as "Hoptonheath".
2 Although the town of Knighton is in Powys, Wales, the railway station is in Shropshire, England.

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Tunnels

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Wellington's railway station, with its 3 remaining platforms.
The small rural station at Bucknell, which has a level crossing at one end.

There are four railway tunnels in use at present in Shropshire:

  • Oakengates Tunnel - the longest tunnel in the county, located between Oakengates and Telford Central stations, on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line
  • Ludlow Tunnel - a short tunnel just to the south of Ludlow station, on the Welsh Marches Line
  • Heath Hill Tunnel - located between Lawley Common and Horsehay on the Telford Steam Railway, this tunnel was reopened to trains with track relayed through it in early 2009, as part of the heritage railway's northward extension to Lawley
  • Knowlesands Tunnel - a very short tunnel on the Severn Valley Railway, located between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade

A notable disused tunnel exists running beneath High Town of Bridgnorth, which once carried the railway from Bridgnorth station northwards towards the Ironbridge Gorge. The tunnel continues to be maintained and is in good condition. There is the possibility of the Severn Valley Railway extending northwards through the tunnel, with the tunnel's owner BRB (Residuary) Ltd offering the heritage railway first refusal, however there would be substantial difficulties in reinstating the railway beyond the tunnel to the north of Bridgnorth.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Direct rail services from Shropshire to London will start on December 14". Shropshire Star. 22 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Office for Rail Regulation Archived 4 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine Station usage figures
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