Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station

Whitchurch (Shropshire)
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°WCoordinates: 52°58′06″N 2°40′18″W / 52.9682°N 2.6717°W
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	75,958
2006/07	85,490
2007/08	89,408
2008/09	92,126
2009/10	97,122
2010/11	103,946
2011/12	108,120
2012/13	106,228
2013/14	113,190
2014/15	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 oversized 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. 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

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.

External links

• Train times and station information for Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station from National Rail