Railways of Shropshire

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

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

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

National Rail services

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

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.

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 the 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

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

The Shropshire-Worcestershire Severn Valley Railway, at Bridgnorth.

There are three heritage railways in Shropshire: the Severn Valley Railway from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster (in Worcestershire), the Telford Steam Railway at Horsehay, and a restored section of the Cambrian Railways, as being run by Cambrian Heritage Railways between Llynclys and Pant.

Cambrian Heritage Railways have also taken on the former Cambrian Railway Society (CRS) plans 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

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

StationPlace2015/16 usage[2]2016/17 usage[2]2017/18 usage[2]Managed byCo-ordinatesLineDistance from ShrewsburyPlatformsRequest stop?DFT station category
Albrighton railway stationAlbrighton95,32299,38098,972West Midlands Trains52.63778°N 2.2683°W / 52.63778; -2.2683 (Albrighton)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton35 km (21¾ miles)2NoF2
Broome railway stationBroome / Aston on Clun1,5647821,150Transport for Wales52.423°N 2.885°W / 52.423; -2.885 (Broome)Heart of Wales36.5 km (22¾ miles)1YesF2
Bucknell railway stationBucknell5,6965,5164,324Transport for Wales52.3573°N 2.948°W / 52.3573; -2.948 (Bucknell)Heart of Wales45.5 km (28¼ miles)1YesF2
Church Stretton railway stationChurch Stretton127,748132,352130,380Transport for Wales52.537°N 2.803°W / 52.537; -2.803 (Church Stretton)Welsh Marches20.5 km (12¾ miles)2NoF1
Cosford railway stationCosford (alight for DCAE Cosford & Air Museum)81,53084,38487,626West Midlands Trains52.6448°N 2.3°W / 52.6448; -2.3 (Cosford)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton32.5 km (20¼ miles)2NoF2
Craven Arms railway stationCraven Arms109,478100,91496,996Transport for Wales52.442°N 2.837°W / 52.442; -2.837 (Craven Arms)Welsh Marches (junction with Heart of Wales)32 km (20 mi)2NoF1
Gobowen railway stationGobowen (alight here for a bus service to Oswestry)213,900221,138218,684Transport for Wales52.8935°N 3.0371°W / 52.8935; -3.0371 (Gobowen)Shrewsbury-Chester28.5 km (17¾ miles)2NoE
Hopton Heath railway station1Hopton Heath1,7541,3321,006Transport for Wales52.3915°N 2.912°W / 52.3915; -2.912 (Hopton Heath)Heart of Wales41 km (25½ miles)1YesF2
Knighton railway stationKnighton221,62620,71421,440Transport for Wales52.345°N 3.042°W / 52.345; -3.042 (Knighton)Heart of Wales52.5 km (32½ miles)2NoF1
Ludlow railway stationLudlow299,776299,802300,742Transport for Wales52.371°N 2.716°W / 52.371; -2.716 (Ludlow)Welsh Marches44 km (27½ miles)2NoE
Oakengates railway stationOakengates55,83059,00667,408West Midlands Trains52.693°N 2.450°W / 52.693; -2.450 (Oakengates)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton21.5 km (13½ miles)2NoF2
Prees railway stationnear Prees6,6746,8387,374Transport for Wales52.8992°N 2.6895°W / 52.8992; -2.6895 (Prees)Welsh Marches22.5 km (14.0 mi)2YesF2
Shifnal railway stationShifnal144,532166,046181,702West Midlands Trains52.666°N 2.372°W / 52.666; -2.372 (Shifnal)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton28 km (17¼ miles)2NoF2
Shrewsbury railway stationShrewsbury1,979,2482,087,8202,211,520Transport for Wales52.712°N 2.75°W / 52.712; -2.75 (Shrewsbury)Junction of several linesn/a5NoC1
Telford Central railway stationTelford Town Centre1,139,0701,207,4061,211,078West Midlands Trains52.681°N 2.441°W / 52.681; -2.441 (Telford Central)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton23 km (14¼ miles)2NoC2
Wellington (Shropshire) railway stationWellington631,176665,778693,438West Midlands Trains52.7015°N 2.517°W / 52.7015; -2.517 (Wellington)Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton16 km (9.9 mi)3NoE
Wem railway stationWem100,678105,044110,636Transport for Wales52.856°N 2.719°W / 52.856; -2.719 (Wem)Welsh Marches17 km (10¾ miles)2NoF1
Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway stationWhitchurch125,430138,246140,746Transport for Wales52.968°N 2.6716°W / 52.968; -2.6716 (Whitchurch)Welsh Marches30 km (18¾ miles)2NoF1
Yorton railway stationYorton / Clive9,3048,7887,686Transport for Wales52.809°N 2.736°W / 52.809; -2.736 (Yorton)Welsh Marches11.5 km (7¼ miles)2YesF2

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

Tunnels

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

References

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