Whitchurch railway station (Shropshire)

The station opened on 2 September 1858[1] by the LNWR-backed Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway. It was once the junction for the Cambrian Railways Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway line to Oswestry and Welshpool (the former Cambrian mainline to Aberystwyth), and the Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway. The former was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe in January 1965,[2] whilst the latter was closed to passengers by the British Transport Commission in September 1957[3] and completely in January 1963.

The site of the former junctions can still be seen from passing trains.

The station has two side platforms and a footbridge. There used to be a large signal box here (which was latterly switched out of use, although operational if required) but this was closed and demolished in 2012[4] whilst the one-time goods shed has been turned into a garage. The former up loop and down bay platforms have both had their track removed (the former is fenced off) and the main buildings (booking hall, waiting room and offices) have also been demolished.[3]

The station is unstaffed (though it does have a ticket machine) with a canopy providing shelter that dates back to when there were four working platforms. Train running information is offered by means of CIS displays, timetable poster boards and customer help points. Step-free access is only possible to the northbound platform, as the footbridge is not accessible for disabled passengers.[5]

The last major work carried out on Whitchurch station was the replacement of the original railway bridge that had become damaged by an oversized lorry load.

Monday to Saturdays, the station is served both by the local stopping service between Shrewsbury and Crewe (every two hours each way) and certain longer distance trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central. The latter stops were introduced at the May 2011 timetable change and offer through journey opportunities to Swansea and West Wales. Except on Saturdays, two of the local stopping trains to Shrewsbury continue southwards over the Heart of Wales Line to Llanelli and Swansea. On Sundays, the service is somewhat infrequent and irregular (6 trains each way) but runs through to Manchester & Cardiff.[6]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Prees		Transport for Wales Welsh Marches Line		Wrenbury
	Disused railways
Malpas		London and North Western Railway Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway		Terminus
Fenn's Bank		Great Western Railway Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway		Terminus

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Oswestry to Whitchurch. Middleton Press. figs. 55-73. ISBN 9781906008819. OCLC 751631667.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Shrewsbury to Crewe. Middleton Press. figs. 47-61. ISBN 9781908174482. OCLC 880765045.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whitchurch (Shropshire) railway station.

• Train times and station information for Whitchurch railway station (Shropshire) from National Rail