Shrewsbury to Chester Line

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.

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.

• Shrewsbury
• Gobowen
• Chirk
• Ruabon
• Wrexham
• Chester

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.

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.

References

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-Rugeley "Chase" Line   Birmingham-Stratford Line   Birmingham-Walsall Line    Coventry-Nuneaton Line   Cross-City 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

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
		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