Wrexham General railway station

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 being built by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, and was built in Jacobean style with Dutch gable pediments. The architect for the 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 it was rebuilt to a standardised GWR 'French Pavilion' design. 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 1960's 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. In 2005, Arriva Trains Wales announced a more frequent rail service to the town, coinciding with the bus to the station. Wrexham, as of December 12, 2005, is now a stop on the Holyhead to Cardiff route, allowing a two-hourly train to Cardiff using Arriva's flagship high speed service.

[edit] Layout

A layout map of Wrexham General

Wrexham General comprises 4 platforms. A bay platform is now unused, but was the bay platform for trains to Barmouth via the Ruabon Barmouth line up until the 1960s. This unused bay platform may see use in the future as the Wrexham Shropshire and Marylebone Railway plans to terminate trains here. 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 station named Wrexham Exchange, was on the ex-Ellesmere to Bidston line, now the Wrexham to Bidston Borderlands Line. Platform five used to be on the same route, but was pulled up when the line was singled.

[edit] Infrastructure Improvements

In November 2006, the Welsh Assembly Government made a pledge to meet the cost of constructing a train maintenance depot at Wrexham General, utilising the currently unused bay platforms, available for use by all Train Operating Companies, but would be of most interest to Arriva Trains Wales and Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone. The investment, which is expected to total up to £900,000, is dependent on Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone being awarded track access for their proposed London-Wrexham services.

It was confirmed in the application to the Official Rail Regulator that improvements to Wrexham General will be remedial works, as the track in the bays has been disused for many years, followed by installation of electrical and water supplies, as well as refuse handling facilities, and enhanced security. These will allow the overnight stabling of trains at Wrexham General. ORR Application

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

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Wrexham General Railway Station

[edit] External links

Train times and station information for Wrexham General railway station from National Rail
Map and aerial photo of Wrexham General railway station from Multimap.com

Preceding station		Following station
Gwersyllt	Arriva Trains Wales Borderlands Line	Wrexham Central
Ruabon	Arriva Trains Wales Shrewsbury to Chester Line	Chester
Ruabon	Wrexham & Shropshire Proposed	Terminus