Whitchurch railway station (Shropshire)

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 Transport for Wales.

Whitchurch (Shropshire)
Whitchurch railway station.
Location
Place	Whitchurch, Shropshire
Local authority	Shropshire Council
Coordinates	52.9682°N 2.6717°W / 52.9682; -2.6717
Grid reference	SJ549414
Operations
Station code	WTC
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	122,280
2015/16	125,430
2016/17	138,246
2017/18	140,746
2018/19	165,386
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.

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 (the former Cambrian mainline to Aberystwyth), 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 former up loop and down bay platforms have both had their track removed (the former is fenced off) and the main buildings (booking hall, waiting room and offices) have also been demolished.[3]

The station is unstaffed (though it does have a ticket machine) with a canopy providing shelter that dates back to when there were four working platforms. Train running information is offered by means of CIS displays, timetable poster boards and customer help points. Step-free access is only possible to the northbound platform, as the footbridge is not accessible for disabled passengers.[5]

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 Piccadilly and Cardiff Central. The latter stops were introduced at the May 2011 timetable change and offer through journey opportunities to Swansea and West Wales. Except on Saturdays, two of the local stopping trains to Shrewsbury continue southwards over the Heart of Wales Line to Llanelli and Swansea. On Sundays, the service is somewhat infrequent and irregular (6 trains each way) but runs through to Manchester & Cardiff.[6]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Prees		Transport for 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

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. Whitchurch (Shropshire) station facilities National Rail Enquiries
6. Table 131 National Rail timetable, December 2018

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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Oswestry to Whitchurch. Middleton Press. figs. 55-73. ISBN 9781906008819. OCLC 751631667.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Shrewsbury to Crewe. Middleton Press. figs. 47-61. ISBN 9781908174482. OCLC 880765045.

External links

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