Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station

Whitchurch (Shropshire) National Rail

Whitchurch railway station.
Location
Place Whitchurch, Shropshire
Local authority Shropshire Council
Coordinates 52°58′06″N 2°40′18″W / 52.9682°N 2.6717°W / 52.9682; -2.6717Coordinates: 52°58′06″N 2°40′18″W / 52.9682°N 2.6717°W / 52.9682; -2.6717
Grid reference SJ549414
Operations
Station code WTC
Managed by Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 65,867
2005/06 Increase 75,958
2006/07 Increase 85,490
2007/08 Increase 89,408
2008/09 Increase 92,126
2009/10 Increase 97,122
2010/11 Increase 103,946
2011/12 Increase 108,120
2012/13 Decrease 106,228
2013/14 Increase 113,190
2014/15 Increase 122,280
History
Original company Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
2 September 1858[1] Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Whitchurch (Shropshire) from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station serves the town of Whitchurch in Shropshire, England. The station is 18¾ miles (30 km) north of Shrewsbury on the Welsh Marches Line. The station is maintained and served by Arriva Trains Wales.

History

The station opened on 2 September 1858[1] by the LNWR-backed Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway. It was once the junction for the Cambrian Railways Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway line to Oswestry and Welshpool, and the Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway. The former was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe in January 1965,[2] whilst the latter was closed to passengers by the British Transport Commission in September 1957[3] and completely in January 1963.

The site of the former junctions can still be seen from passing trains.

Operation

The station has two side platforms and a footbridge. There used to be a large signal box here (which was latterly switched out of use, although operational if required) but this was closed and demolished in 2012[4] whilst the one-time goods shed has been turned into a garage. The station is unstaffed with a canopy providing shelter that dates back to when there were four working platforms.

One whole side of platform 2 is fenced off from what would be platform 3 and the track has been removed from the track bed.

The last major work carried out on Whitchurch station was the replacement of the original railway bridge that had become damaged by an over-sized lorry load.

Services

Monday to Saturdays, the station is served both by the local stopping service between Shrewsbury and Crewe (every two hours each way) and certain longer distance trains between Manchester Picadilly and Cardiff Central. The latter stops were introduced at the May 2011 timetable change and offer through journey opportunities to Swansea and West Wales. On Sundays, the service is somewhat infrequent and irregular (5 trains each way) but runs through to Manchester & Cardiff.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Butt 1995, p. 248.
  2. Cambrian Heritage Railways - History www.cambrianrailways.com; Retrieved 11 November 2013
  3. Disused Stations - Whitchurch Retrieved 11 November 2013
  4. Rail station weekend closureWhitchurch Herald news article; Retrieved 2013-11-11
  5. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 131

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Prees   Arriva Trains Wales
Welsh Marches Line
  Wrenbury
Disused railways
Malpas   London and North Western Railway
Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway
  Terminus
Fenn's Bank   Great Western Railway
Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway
  Terminus
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.