Wrexham General railway station

Wrexham General Welsh: Wrecsam Cyffredinol
Wrexham General railway station
General information
Location	Wrexham, Wrexham County Borough Wales
Coordinates	53°03′03″N3°00′05″W / 53.05083°N 3.00139°W / 53.05083; -3.00139
Grid reference	SJ329508
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Line(s)	Shrewsbury–Chester Borderlands
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	WRX
Classification	DfT category D
History
Opened	1846 Rebuilt 1912 Cafe and new platforms opened 2008 Platform 4 and footbridge rebuilt 2011
Passengers
2019/20	0.502 million
Rhos		Great Western Railway Shrewsbury to Chester Line		Rhosrobin Halt
Plas Power (WMR) Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Wrexham and Minera Railway		Terminus
Gatewen Halt Line and station closed

Facilities and further passenger information

• Self service ticket machines are available
• Ticket hall with counters for ticket purchase and information points is available
• All platforms have monitors showing the next three trains to depart or terminate are in use
• All platforms have announcements
• There is a taxi rank at this station
• Regular buses call at this station
• There is a large pay and display car park at this station
• There are three entrances/exits to the station, one via the main ticket hall. Another on platform one near the overpass. The third is located on Mold road connecting to platform 4
• Disabled access to whole station
• Lifts to all platforms via main over pass
• All regular north and south bound long-distance trains have at seat or buffet car catering
• Waiting rooms are located on the island platforms
• This station is covered by a roof
• Regular BTP security checks are carried out throughout this station

Layout

A layout map of Wrexham General

Wrexham General comprises four operational platforms with two disused bay platforms at the southern end of Platform 1. These were used for trains to Barmouth via the Ruabon Barmouth line until the 1960s. 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, once opposite and on the same route as platform 4, became disused when the line was singled, however in 2008 it has been re-surfaced and is now a private parking space.

• Platform 1 can accommodate a 10 car train, ^[8] and is used for long distance southbound intercity passenger services to Shrewsbury, and onwards to Birmingham International (via Telford Central) or Cardiff Central, operated by Transport for Wales, and for services terminating at Wrexham from Chester and London Euston. Due to signalling constraints, trains cannot depart to the north.
• Platform 2 can accommodate a 10 car train, ^[8] and is used for regular northbound passenger inter city and regional services to Chester and services onwards to the North Wales Coast line to Holyhead and for services to Manchester Piccadilly via Chester and Runcorn, operated by Transport for Wales. Inter city Services to London Euston (via Chester and Crewe) are also provided on this platform by Avanti West Coast. Due to signalling constraints, trains cannot depart to the south.
• Platform 3 can accommodate a 7 car train, ^[8] and was used for regular passenger services to London Marylebone via Shrewsbury, Telford Central and Tame Bridge, operated by Wrexham & Shropshire. This platform is now used by a small number of Borderlands Line passenger services (usually the first northbound and last southbound train each day), for services terminating at Wrexham from Shrewsbury and for freight services changing between the Shrewsbury-Chester line and the Borderlands line. This platform is signalled bidirectionally, so trains can depart either south towards Shrewsbury or north towards Bidston, although no services from Shrewsbury currently depart on the Borderlands line and vice versa. In practice this platform is used for trains terminating from either direction.
• Platform 4 is located outside the main station canopy and is used for regular branch line passenger services northbound to Bidston, and to Wrexham Central in the opposite direction, operated by Transport for Wales. This platform is signalled bidirectionally, so trains can depart either south towards Wrexham Central or north towards Bidston.

Recent developments

The station is currently undergoing a renaissance as a number of new services have been introduced. Since 2005 the station has been a stop of the two hourly Cardiff to Holyhead Transport for Wales service (introduced by previous franchise operator Arriva Trains Wales, which occasionally extends to Llanelli. The two hourly Birmingham service has also been extended to Birmingham International and Holyhead.

In 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 & Shropshire, who utilised the depot until services to London Marylebone stopped in January 2011.

From February 2009 a cafe has opened on the station in formerly empty office space. In June 2011, construction began on the increased access for disabled people to platform four. The existing footbridge between platforms three and four was removed in preparation for the construction of a new footbridge which includes a lift on Platform four. This obviates the use of the road bridge for disabled access to platform four. The new bridge has been built to modern standards but in a style sympathising with the rest of the station design. The footbridge was installed in a record 12 hours and a timelapse video was shot of the event.

On 20 March 2012 it was announced that sections of the North to South Wales line would be upgraded along the Wrexham section of the line to a total of £46 million worth of improvements. These include redoubling the Wrexham – Chester section, and upgrading sections of the line to allow for 90 mph running throughout. This will allow for an increase in traffic between Wrexham and Chester, including further London services and a possibility of regular services to new destinations. One report has suggested extending the hourly First TransPennine Express Hull – Manchester Piccadilly service to Wrexham via Chester, which would provide a direct service to Manchester, Leeds and Hull. Other suggestions include extending the current hourly Chester – Crewe shuttle service south to Wrexham and north to Manchester (via Manchester Airport). ^[9] Although the engineering work completed in April 2017, no new developments are anticipated until late 2017 at the earliest. ^[10]

Transport for Wales have confirmed plans to introduce peak time services to and from Liverpool Lime Street via Chester and Runcorn, along the Halton Curve, ^{[11] [12]} from May 2019. ^{[13] [14]}

Gallery

• 
  Platform 1
• 
  The footbridge, viewed from platform 2
• 
  Platform 3
• 
  Platform 4 serves the Borderlands Line

Oswestry, Gwersyllt, Plas Power & Wrexham on the Railway Clearing House map.

References

1. Cadw. "Wrexham General Station: Entrance Building (1855)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
2. "Eight-wagon night smash at Wrexham station". RAIL . No. 304. EMAP Apex Publications. 7–20 May 1997. p. 6. ISSN   0953-4563. OCLC   49953699.
3. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Western's last "General"". Railway Magazine . 120 (879). London: IPC Transport Press Ltd: 361. ISSN   0033-8923.
4. Mitchell & Smith 2013 , map V
5. Mitchell & Smith 2013 , fig. 10
6. Table 101 National Rail timetable, December 2018
7. GB eNRT December 2018 Ed, Tables 75 & 131
8. Yonge, John (March 2005) [1990]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 4: Midlands & North West (2nd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 22D. ISBN   0-9549866-0-1.
9. "£46m rail improvement scheme for Wrexham lines". North Wales Daily Post. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
10. Williams, Kelly (5 April 2017). "Wrexham to Chester railway line upgrade finally complete after major delays".
11. "Chancellor announces £10.4m to redevelop Halton Curve rail line". Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
12. "Halton Curve to be reinstated with £10.4m upgrade". Chester Chronicle . 3 July 2014.
13. "New Chester-Liverpool rail service". Cheshire Live. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
14. "Rail industry confirms new summer 2019 timetable". 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.

Sources

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Wrexham to New Brighton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN   9781908174475. OCLC   859543196.

Further reading

• Hendry, R. Preston; Hendry, R. Powell (1992). Paddington to the Mersey. Oxford Publishing Company. pp. 114–115. ISBN   9780860934424. OCLC   877729237.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Shrewsbury to Chester. Middleton Press. figs. 77-90. ISBN   9781906008703. OCLC   495274299.

External links

• Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership Archived 21 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
• Train times and station information for Wrexham General railway station from National Rail