Shrewsbury to Chester Line
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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].
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.
The towns served by the lines are listed below.
Passenger trains along the line are operated by Arriva Trains Wales and Wrexham & Shropshire.
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 Steet (on Merseyrail's Wirral Line).
At Shrewsbury, connections are provided towards Carmarthen via Hereford & 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).
[edit] Growth in services
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 300% 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Helps, Arthur The Life and Works of Mr Brassey, 1872 republished Nonsuch, 2006. p. 107 ISBN 1845880110
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