Merseyrail is a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit urban rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated 750 V DC third rail electrified lines that serve underground stations in the centres of Liverpool and Birkenhead. Merseyrail branding is also applied to stations and 'shared' services on the City Line, which are within the Liverpool City Region but operated by other train operating companies. The City Line services operate on the Liverpool to Manchester Lines and the Liverpool to Wigan Line using a mix of AC electric and diesel trains.
The North Wales Coast Line, also known as the North Wales Main Line, is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, England, running from Crewe on the West Coast Main Line to Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey. The line has 19 stations, with all except two, Chester and Crewe, being in Wales.
The Shrewsbury–Chester line is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham County Borough in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the northern terminal of Chester and Shrewsbury in the south as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. Some additional services, starting part way along the line to London Euston via Chester are operated by Avanti West Coast. The line was built in 1846 by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the engineer for the line being Henry Robertson, a partner in locomotive builders Beyer Peacock, while the contractor was Thomas Brassey in partnership with William Mackenzie and Robert Stephenson. The line is part of Transport for Wales' North Wales Metro improvement programme.
Deeside is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neighbouring Chester into the Dee Estuary. These include Connah's Quay, Shotton, Queensferry, Aston, Garden City, Sealand, Broughton, Bretton, Hawarden, Ewloe, Mancot, Pentre, Saltney and Sandycroft. The population is around 50,000, with a plurality (17,500) living in Connah's Quay.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
Halton Curve is a short bi-directional railway line which links the Chester–Warrington line to the Weaver Junction–Liverpool line within the borough of Halton, Cheshire. The route, which is 1 mile 54 chains (2.7 km) long, is between Frodsham Junction and Halton Junction. After having no regular services for more than four decades, the line has been upgraded and reopened by Network Rail for hourly passenger trains between Chester and Liverpool.
Holywell Junction railway station was a junction station located on the north-eastern edge of Holywell and Greenfield, in Flintshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Dee.
The South Wales Metro is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network in South East Wales around the hub of Cardiff Central. The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently underway with a brand new depot under construction at Taff's Well and new trains being constructed at the Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) 15,000 m2 factory in Newport. This will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations. This will be the biggest overhaul to the railways of South Wales since their construction 170 years ago.
Beechwood is a proposed railway station situated between Bidston and Upton on the Borderlands Line, to serve the Beechwood area of Birkenhead.
Woodchurch is a proposed railway station situated between Upton and Heswall on the Borderlands Line.
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is a proposed major rail programme designed to substantially enhance the economic potential of the North of England. The phrase was adopted in 2014 for a project featuring new and significantly upgraded railway lines in the region. The aim is to transform rail services between the major towns and cities, requiring the region's single biggest transport investment since the Industrial Revolution. The original scheme would have seen a new high-speed rail line from Liverpool to Warrington continuing to join the HS2 tunnel which it would share into Manchester Piccadilly station. From there, the line would have continued to Leeds with a stop at Bradford. The line was intended to improve journey times and frequency between major Northern cities as well as creating more capacity for local service on lines that express services would have been moved out from.
Sydney Metro City & Southwest is a 30 km (19 mi) rapid transit project currently under-construction in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The project will extend the Metro North West Line from Chatswood on the North Shore, to Bankstown in the city's south-west via the Sydney central business district. The centrepiece of the project is a new 15.5 km (9.6 mi) twin-tunnel rail crossing under Sydney Harbour and through the city to Sydenham. Together with planned improvements to the Main Western line, the project is expected to increase capacity on the Sydney rail network by up to 60%, and allow for the movement of over 100,000 extra commuters across the network every hour.
North East Wales refers to an area or region of Wales, commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham County Borough in the north-east of the country. These principal areas comprise most of the former administrative county of Clwyd. It is bordered by Conwy, and Gwynedd, in North West Wales to the west, Powys, in Mid Wales to the south, the English counties of Cheshire, and Shropshire to the east, and the Irish Sea, and Dee estuary to the north. It is the more urban, densely populated, and industrial part of the north Wales geographic region, centred on the towns of Wrexham, Rhyl, and Prestatyn, and the conurbation of Deeside. The region's close links with North West England in general and Merseyside in particular are crucial to the region's economy. The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the region. Other attractions include historical buildings such as Chirk Castle, and Erddig in Wrexham, valley towns such as Corwen and Llangollen, and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.
Town Meadow is a proposed railway station to serve the west of Moreton near Meols in the Wirral, England. The station would be situated on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line.
The North Wales Metro is a rail and bus transport improvement programme in north Wales. Styled as a "Metro", it is conceptually a multi-modal system with a combination of bus, heavy rail, and light rail services. It was initially focused on linking major settlements and employment areas of the north-east of Wales with the North West of England, with its hubs located in Wrexham, Chester and Deeside, although the programme has since expanded, with proposals extending to Anglesey in the north-west of Wales. The existing Borderlands line forms a core rail component of the network, where projects to increase connections, integrated access, and service frequency between Wrexham, Deeside and Liverpool are centred upon. The proposals were put forward in 2016 as is part of Welsh Labour's plan for north Wales. Labour has pledged to open the system by 2035. The proposals were included in the 2018 Wales & Borders franchise contest. It is the second of the three regional metros proposed by the Welsh Government to go ahead, after the South Wales Metro, and before the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro. The project is described to be in its initial phases.
West Wales Parkway is a proposed railway station north of Swansea, near to the boundaries of the neighbouring principal area of Carmarthenshire, and the villages of Felindre and Llangyfelach. The station is proposed to be situated at the former Felindre steelworks, near Junction 46 of the M4 and A48, and near Felindre Business Park and Penllergaer Business Park. The project is in the planning stages, as part of a wider Department for Transport proposal to re-open the Swansea District line to passenger traffic.
Wrexham North is a proposed railway station on the Shrewsbury–Chester line, situated between Rossett and Wrexham, in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. As of January 2022, there is no definitive site for the proposed station, with proposals including: the former Rossett railway station or a station near Pandy, Wrexham and Gresford. Unless construction of the station south of Rossett coincides with the full or partial dualling of the currently single track railway line towards Stansty, Wrexham North may be a single platform station or if situated at Rossett Junction be linked by a single track southwards to Wrexham.
Wrexham South is a proposed railway station on the Shrewsbury–Chester line, situated between Chirk and Wrexham, in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. As of January 2022, there is no definitive site for the proposed station, with proposals for the station to be located either near Johnstown or at Rhosymedre on the former Rhosymedre Halt railway station. If the latter location is decided, Ruabon would be the station closest to the south of Wrexham.
Broughton railway station is a proposed railway station on the North Wales Coast line, situated north of Broughton, Flintshire, Wales. Recent proposals for the station use a site north of Airbus UK's West factory site and Hawarden Airport, where the B5129 crosses the North Wales Coast line. Older proposals for the station include using the old sites of the former Sandycroft and Saltney Ferry railway stations.
