Shrewsbury–Chester line
The Shrewsbury–Chester line (Welsh: Llinell Amwythig i Gaer) is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham County Borough in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the northern terminal of Chester and Shrewsbury in the south as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. Some additional services, starting part way along the line to London Euston via Chester are operated by Avanti West Coast. The line was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the engineer for the line being Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock, while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson. The line is part of Transport for Wales' North Wales Metro improvement programme.
| Shrewsbury–Chester line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Transport for Wales' 197015 & 017 at Wrexham General with a service from Cardiff to Holyhead. | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Llinell Amwythig i Gaer (Welsh) | ||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Locale | Regions: North West England, North East Wales, and West Midlands Local authorities: Cheshire West and Chester, Wrexham County Borough and Shropshire | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | Gobowen, Chirk, Ruabon and Wrexham General | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy Rail | ||
| System | National Rail (Wales & Borders franchise) | ||
| Operator(s) | Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast | ||
| Rolling stock | Class 67 locomotive + Mark 4 carriages, Class 150 Sprinter, Class 153 Super Sprinter, Class 158 Express Sprinter, Class 197 Civity, Class 221 Super Voyager | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1846 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 84.38 miles (135.80 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | Mostly double track between Saltney Junction and Abbey Foregate Junction, with a single track between Rossett Junction and Wrexham General. | ||
| Character | Main line, Commuter Rail, Freight | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Operating speed | 50 mph (80 km/h), 70 mph (110 km/h), 90 mph or 140 km/h. | ||
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The line has six stations, equally distributed between England and Wales. There are proposals to open stations on the line in Baschurch (by re-opening Baschurch railway station) and in the north and south of Wrexham.
The line was formerly double-track for its entire length, however, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) of the line between Wrexham and Saltney Junction was reduced to a single-track in the 1980s. This was partly reversed in 2017, with the re-doubling of 5 miles (8.0 km) of the single-track section between Saltney Junction to Rossett Junction into double-track. The infrastructural work was carried out by Network Rail and funded by the Welsh Government. The re-doubling was completed in April 2017, with the project described to be an effort to increase services between Wrexham and Chester and improving certain sections of line to allow trains to run at 90 mph. The remaining 4 miles (6.4 km) of track between Rossett Junction and just north of Wrexham General remains single-track. The line used to extend to Chester directly, however the section of track between Saltney Junction and Chester railway station was reduced from two double-tracks, sharing with the North Wales Coast Line, to a single double-track now considered only part of the North Wales Coast Line by Network Rail.