Major improvements for rail in Shrewsbury

Shropshire Council welcomes the news that £9.8million is to be spent in Shropshire as part of a £45 million package to upgrade the railway line from Chester and Wrexham to Shrewsbury. 

The work is being funded by the Welsh Government under their project to improve north-south journey times within Wales.  The major part of the work will see the re-doubling of 7 miles of route between Chester and Wrexham singled in the 1980s, and increasing the maximum speed on some sections to 90mph.  This will increase the number of trains able to use that part of the route, and to shorten journey times. 

The additional work in Shropshire will see further journey time benefits by raising the speed to 90mph between Gobowen and Shrewsbury. 

These improvements follow directly from a major study of the route undertaken in 2007. The study, undertaken by Scott-Wilson Railways and partly funded by the former Shropshire County Council, examined all aspects of the route with the aim of unlocking the line’s potential. 

Councillor Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for transport, said:

“This is good news for railways in Shropshire, and shows the importance of the line. Together with colleagues at Wrexham Council, we have long campaigned for the recommendations of the Scott-Wilson study to be implemented, and are pleased this pressure has been successful.” 

Preliminary work on the project has already started, and the work is expected to be completed by 2015. 

Further information 

The Chester-Wrexham-Shrewsbury line has a regular hourly service pattern in each direction, with trains between Holyhead and Cardiff, and Holyhead and Birmingham International, both via Wrexham and Shrewsbury. 

Shropshire Council is a funding member of the Community Rail Partnership for the line, which sponsored the Scott-Wilson study undertaken in 2007.