Shrewsbury–Chester line

Shrewsbury–Chester line
Welsh: *Llinell Amwythig i Gaer*
Shrewsbury–Chester line; Welsh: Llinell Amwythig i Gaer
	A Transport for Wales 197015 & 017 at Wrexham General with a train from Cardiff to Holyhead.
Overview
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	Shrewsbury; Chester
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 805 Evero
History
Opened	1846
Technical
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.
Route map

The Shrewsbury to Chester line (Welsh: Llinell Amwythig i Gaer) is a railway line between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Chester in Cheshire in England. Despite both terminus stations being in England, the line runs through Wrexham in Wales. Trains on the line are run by Transport for Wales.

There are six stations along the line, with some in England and some in Wales. There are plans to open new stations on the line, with one being in Baschurch and one to the north and south of Wrexham.

History

The line was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. The engineer for the line was Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock. The contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson.

Stations

The stations on the line are:

Services

The line is served by trains operated by Transport for Wales. Services between Holyhead and both Cardiff Central and Birmingham International use the line hourly. There is also a limited Avanti West Coast service between Holyhead and London Euston via Chester that uses part of the line.

References

↑ "Delivering a better railway for a better Britain — Route Specifications 2017 Wales" (PDF). networkrail.co.uk. Network Rail. March 2017. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2026-07-20.

Template:Railway lines in the North West Template:Railway lines in the West Midlands Template:Railway lines in Wales

[:Route_Spec-1] "Delivering a better railway for a better Britain — Route Specifications 2017 Wales" (PDF). networkrail.co.uk. Network Rail. March 2017. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2026-07-20.

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