Wrexham General railway station

Wrexham General railway station

Infobox UK station
name=Wrexham General
"Wrecsam Cyffredinol"


locale=Wrexham
manager=Arriva Trains Wales
borough=Wrexham County Borough
usage0405=0.391
usage0506=0.401
usage0607=0.436

gridref=SJ329508
platforms=6 in use
start=1846
Rebuilt 1912

Wrexham General railway station ( _cy. Wrecsam Cyffredinol) is the main railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, but services are also provided by other operators including Wrexham & Shropshire. Virgin Trains will begin services from the station in late 2008. The station was first opened in 1846, later becoming part of the GWR network and expanded in 1912.

It is one of two railway stations in the central area of the town (the other being Wrexham Central). It is the main hub for inter-city services in the area, and as a result 77.7% of all rail journeys (2006/07) in Wrexham County Borough start or end at the station.

History

In 1846 the first steam trains began the Railway Age in Wrexham. The line was originally called The North Wales Mineral Railway This was backed by local businessmen, among whom the developer of the steel works at Brymbo, Henry Robertson, is well known.There have been two railway station buildings on the site: the original was built by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway in Jacobean style with Dutch gable pediments. The architect for that station was Mr Thomas Penson of Wrexham, who also designed the Shrewsbury and Gobowen stations. It was built on the edge of Wrexham, a town which at the time was heavily industrialised and had many coal mines and steelworks to attract the railway companies.

The second station building was constructed by the GWR in 1912. The company decided the increasing rail traffic needed newer and more efficient facilities, so the station was rebuilt to a standardised GWR 'French Pavilion' design, including ornate crestings on the roof "towers". This station design was unique in that it used stonework from the original building instead of standard red brick. It survived the Beeching cuts of the 1960s as a through route for steel produced in Shotton and wood for the Chirk MDF factory.

In 1997 a wagon on an empty coal train derailed at a nearby level crossing. The train carried on for a mile into Wrexham General where the wagons scraped up the platform, damaging it and the station canopy. This prompted a massive refurbishing, including new canopies, a jetwash of the sandstone buildings, and platform retiling.

The station is currently undergoing a renaissance as a number of new services have been introduced. In 2005, Arriva Trains Wales announced a more frequent rail service to the town, coinciding with the bus to the station. Wrexham, as of 12 December 2005, is a stop on the Holyhead to Cardiff route, allowing a two-hourly train to Cardiff using Arriva's flagship North Wales-South Wales service. In 2008 two rail companies will begin new operations from the station to London, including Wrexham & Shropshire whose operational centre and depot will be located in the complex.

ervices

Arriva Trains Wales

* Borderlands Line from Wrexham Central to Bidston
* Cardiff Central-Holyhead including Newport, Chester and Bangor
* Birmingham New St.-Chester including Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury

Trains run hourly to Bidston, Chester & Shrewsbury and two-hourly to Birmingham, Cardiff and Holyhead on weekdays & Saturdays. There is a two-hourly service on Sundays to Chester & Birmingham and six services to Bidston.

Wrexham & Shropshire

* London Marylebone-Wrexham including Shrewsbury, Telford and Tame Bridge Parkway.

Five trains per day each way on weekdays, four on Saturdays and three on Sundays.

Layout


Wrexham General comprises 6 platforms. Two bay platforms at the southern end of Platform 1 have recently been refurbished after decades of disuse. These were used for trains to Barmouth via the Ruabon Barmouth line until the 1960s. They are now used for Wrexham and Shropshire services to London and overnight stabling of trains. Platforms 1 and 2 are on the main Chester to Shrewsbury line, platform 3 being on an island platform opposite 2; and platform 4, until the mid-1980s a separate former Great Central Railway station named Wrexham Exchange, was on the ex-Ellesmere to Bidston line, now the Wrexham to Bidston Borderlands Line. Platform 5 used to be on the same route, but was pulled down when the line was singled.

Infrastructure Improvements

On the 28th April 2008 Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, the Deputy First Minister for Wales opened a new Wrexham Network Rail depot. It consisted of the refurbishment of two terminal bay platforms to the south of the station for overnight stabling of trains and the construction of a crew depot. The development was opened to coincide with the start of services from Wrexham General to London by Wrexham and Shropshire, who will utilise the depot.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.chester2shrewsburyrail.co.uk/ Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership]

###@@@KEYEND@@@###


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kidderminster Town railway station — Kidderminster Town is a railway station situated in the town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. It is operated by the Severn Valley Railway, a heritage line which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. HistoryThe first railway station at… …   Wikipedia

  • Cardiff Central railway station — Infobox UK station name=Cardiff Central other name=Caerdydd Canolog manager=Arriva Trains Wales locale=Cardiff borough=City and County of Cardiff owner=Network Rail code=CDF usage0405=7.743 usage0506=8.358 usage0607=9.127 platforms=7 years=1850… …   Wikipedia

  • Leamington Spa railway station — Infobox UK station name = Leamington Spa manager = Chiltern Railways locale = Leamington Spa borough = Warwick usage0405 = 1.199 usage0506 = 1.220 usage0607 = 1.327 code = LMS platforms = 4 events = Opened years = 1852 events2 = Rebuilt years2 =… …   Wikipedia

  • Wellington (Shropshire) railway station — Infobox UK station caption=View of the station facing eastbound towards Shrewsbury. name=Wellington (Shropshire) manager=London Midland locale=Wellington, Shropshire borough=Telford and Wrekin usage0405=0.330 usage0506=0.354 platforms=3… …   Wikipedia

  • Chester Northgate railway station — Chester Northgate Site of the former Chester Northgate Station in 2010 Location Place Chester …   Wikipedia

  • North Camp railway station — North Camp Location Place …   Wikipedia

  • Chester railway station — This article is about the railway station in England. For the station in Pennsylvania, see Chester Transportation Center. Chester …   Wikipedia

  • Gobowen railway station — Infobox UK station name = Gobowen for Oswestry locale = Gobowen manager = Arriva Trains Wales borough = Oswestry gridref = SJ303333 latitude = 52.8935 longitude = 3.0371 platforms = 2 start = 1846 lowusage0405 = 140,968 lowusage0506 = 145,211… …   Wikipedia

  • Ruabon railway station — Infobox UK station name=Ruabon Rhiwabon locale=Ruabon manager=Arriva Trains Wales borough=Wrexham gridref=SJ303438 platforms=2 start=4 November 1846 lowusage0405 = 32,414 lowusage0506 = 39,854 lowusage0607 = 46,623 code = RUA Ruabon railway… …   Wikipedia

  • Chirk railway station — Chirk Y Waun …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”