Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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| Franchise(s): | Not subject to franchising; Open-access operator |
| Main route(s): | London Marylebone – Wrexham |
| Other route(s): | None |
| Fleet size: | |
| Stations: | 11 (planned) |
| Parent company: | Laing Rail/Renaissance Trains |
| Web site: | www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk |
The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway (WSMR) is a newly formed railway company, which is planning to run trains from Wrexham, in North Wales, to London on an open-access basis under the name Wrexham & Shropshire. It is run by two existing railway companies: Renaissance Trains and Laing Rail. The current boss of the company is John Nelson.
The plan is to run high speed trains from Wrexham to the British capital, calling at Ruabon, Chirk, Gobowen (for nearby Oswestry), Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton and Banbury. It is forecasted to be a major competitor to Virgin Trains West Coast main line running and will restore direct London services to Shropshire (currently the only county in England without a direct rail link to the capital [2]), which were lost when Virgin pulled out from the area in 2000.
Laing Rail own and operate the popular Chiltern Railways, who operate services between Marylebone station and Kidderminster already. Since the train is planned to be terminating at Wrexham, it may have to use the long unused bay platform at Wrexham General originally used for holiday trains to Barmouth. It hopes to start operations in summer 2007, with 5 trains running in each direction per day. Journey times to London could be as fast as 3½ hours from Wrexham, or 2¾ hours from Shrewsbury.
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[edit] Rolling Stock
Wrexham & Shropshire have proposed operating various types of trains to run its services:
- Diesel Multiple Units: The company has proposed Class 170 Turbostars or Class 158 Super Sprinters. However, Class 170s are in short supply as they are currently all used by franchises. The Class 158 is cleared to run only as far along the route as Aynho Junction
- Locomotives: In the week of 8 October 2006, a trial run was made to work out timetables. The project manager of the WSMR, Andy Hamilton, said that the test allowed for the possible use of Class 67s with carriages, as opposed to a diesel multiple unit. While this was for expediency in getting the test run, it proved that locomotive and coaching stock could be viabily run on the proposed route. The train was run from London Marylebone to Wrexham General using the intended route and arrived on time, despite a delay at Wolverhampton. It was later confirmed that Class 67s are a viable option, using Mk2/Mk3 coaching stock. [1]
It was also stated that the trains will be stabled overnight in the disused bay platform at Wrexham General and disused offices there will serve as the train crew depot.[2]
[edit] Welsh Assembly
In October 2006, the Welsh Assembly announced that WSMR did not qualify for employment grants which it would then use to improve the facilities at Wrexham General station to turn it into the company's operational centre. This has led to speculation that, if the funding cannot be found, the company may have to re-locate to Shrewsbury, which could then affect the number of services it runs to Wrexham. [3]
However, in November 2006, the Welsh Assembly announced that the WSMR was eligbile for the money, and as a result, a site survey at Wrexham General was undertaken. The depot is subject to the WSMR being allowed to operate trains, and will be open to all train operating companies. [4]
[edit] Route with Stations
Stations expected to be served by the new services are:
| Wrexham General | |
| Ruabon | |
| Chirk | |
| Gobowen | |
| Shrewsbury | |
| Wellington (Shropshire) (to be serviced by only some trains) | |
| Telford Central | |
| Cosford (to be serviced by only some trains) | |
| Wolverhampton | |
| Banbury (with restricted use) | |
| London Marylebone |
It has been (incorrectly) reported that they may call at Birmingham New Street, Snow Hill or International. This was dismissed in August 2006, when the official website was brought online, showing no stops at Birmingham. A rather surprising stop is that of Banbury railway station, as it was previously believed trains would run non-stop between Wolverhampton and London.
It has been reported that Banbury is to be included as a set down stop southbound (i.e. no one allowed to board) and a pick up stop northbound [5]. This is to allow connections to intermediate Chiltern Railways stations to London (e.g. High Wycombe) but also to provide connections to Oxford, Reading and the Thames Valley.
[edit] See also
[edit] References/External links
- Wrexham & Shropshire official website
- BBC News article
- BBC Shropshire webpage
- Presentation given to Shrewsbury and Atcham borough council
- Discussion online
- Information from the ORR
- Laing Rail
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central1 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line2 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways3 - 'one' - Silverlink - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains2 - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains |
|---|---|
| International: | Enterprise3 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express4 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper5 - Night Riviera6 |
| 1 Starts 20 May 2007 - 2 To be replaced by the South Western franchise in February 2007 3 Operated on the Irish railway network - 4 Operated by 'one' - 5 Operated by First ScotRail 6 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators in Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - London Overground1 - South Western2 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Grand Union3 - Wrexham & Shropshire4 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Starts February 2007 - 3 Proposed - 4 Awaiting Approval | |
