Wrexham & Shropshire

Wrexham & Shropshire

Company type	Private company
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	2006
Founder	John Laing, Renaissance Trains
Defunct	2011-01-28
Fate	Ceased operations due to lack of profitability
Successor	Chiltern Railways (operations integrated)
Headquarters	Wrexham , United Kingdom
Area served	England and Wales (Wrexham General to London Marylebone)
Key people	John Liang (planner)
Products	Passenger rail services
Owner	Deutsche Bahn (DB Regio), Renaissance Trains, formerly John Laing
Number of employees	Not specified
Parent	DB Regio (from 2009)

Wrexham & Shropshire—officially registered as the Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited—functioned as an open access operator delivering passenger rail connections between Wrexham General and London Marylebone from April 2008 until January 2011.

The company was launched in early 2006 with the objective of reinstating the discontinued London–Shropshire/Welsh Marches rail corridor. A trial run took place in October 2006, followed by an application for track access rights submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in March 2007. These rights were granted starting December 2007, leading to the commencement of services on 28 April 2008. Although initial plans involved deploying Class 158 or Class 170 diesel multiple units, operations instead utilized locomotive-hauled trains composed of Mark 3 coaches, Driving Van Trailers, and Class 67 locomotives.

Originally formed as a partnership between John Laing and Renaissance Trains, John Laing divested its stake to German state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn in January 2008. By September 2009, DB Regio had assumed complete ownership and began integrating Wrexham & Shropshire with its subsidiary Chiltern Railways, including proposals for a merger. Financial support from the Welsh Assembly facilitated enhancements at Wrexham General and a refurbishment program for the Mark 3 rolling stock, introducing upgraded carriages from September 2009.

Despite these improvements, passenger volumes did not meet expectations during the period of the Great Recession. Service frequency was reduced from five daily trains to three by December 2010. Competition intensified when Virgin Trains launched a London–Wrexham route via Chester in October 2008, alongside other operators exploring direct London–Shrewsbury services. In January 2011, Wrexham & Shropshire declared that profitability was unattainable and terminated operations on 28 January 2011.

Formation

The inception of Wrexham & Shropshire occurred in early 2006 with the aim of providing passenger rail services between Wrexham and London Marylebone. Established as an open access operator through a joint venture between John Laing and Renaissance Trains, it sought to restore direct connections to London that had ceased following withdrawal by InterCity in 1992.

Although Virgin Trains offered a Shrewsbury to London Euston service briefly from 1998 to 1999, this was discontinued. In October 2006, a trial service operated from London Marylebone to Wrexham General using the EWS Company Train, featuring Mark 3 coaches and British Rail Class 67 locomotives positioned at both ends. Due to unavailability of the originally intended Class 158 or Class 170 diesel multiple units, this locomotive-hauled configuration was adopted for regular service.

Five potential routes were initially evaluated for the operation. In October 2006, the Welsh Assembly initially declined employment-related grants aimed at upgrading facilities at Wrexham General, raising concerns about relocating operational bases to Shrewsbury, which could have diminished service levels at Wrexham and neighboring stations. However, by November 2006, the Welsh Assembly reversed its position by approving funding that allowed a site survey for a depot at Wrexham General—planned as an accessible facility for all train operators.

Authorization and Service Commencement

In March 2007, Wrexham & Shropshire submitted an application to the Office of Rail Regulation seeking track access rights to operate its train services. By September 2007, the company secured approval to run services starting December 2007 for a seven-year period. This approval postponed the initial plan to begin passenger operations in 2007, pushing the launch into early 2008.

Scheduled passenger services officially commenced on 28 April 2008. This launch reinstated direct rail connections between Wrexham and London after a 41-year hiatus and received commendation from Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, who regarded it as crucial for enhancing Wales' rail infrastructure.

While journey times were relatively lengthy due to less favorable train path allocations, the service was distinguished by its premium, high-quality rolling stock. The operator rapidly built a strong reputation for exceptional customer care, consistently achieving customer satisfaction scores in the high 90 percentile range, including an outstanding 99% rating in 2010—the highest among UK train operators.

Changes in Ownership and Planned Integration

In January 2008, John Laing divested its rail operations, including its share in Wrexham & Shropshire, to the German national railway company Deutsche Bahn. Following this transaction, ownership was distributed with DB Regio holding 50%, Renaissance Trains owning 36%, and John Laing retaining 14%. In September 2009, DB Regio announced intentions to acquire full ownership, aiming to align Wrexham & Shropshire with its other UK subsidiary, Chiltern Railways.

The plan was for Wrexham & Shropshire’s operations to be transferred to Chiltern Railways, a DB Regio subsidiary, from early 2010 onward while preserving the Wrexham & Shropshire brand as an open access unit. However, concerns over revenue abstraction impacting Chiltern Railways led to the Department for Transport denying approval for the merger, thereby halting the proposed integration.

Closure

Wrexham & Shropshire discontinued services on 28 January 2011 after an internal review determined no viable path to profitability; losses amounted to £2.9 million in 2010 alone. Despite financial challenges prompting the shutdown, the company remained solvent and fulfilled all financial commitments. The decline in passenger numbers and lack of profitability were attributed to the economic downturn during the Great Recession. Passengers holding advance tickets beyond the closure date were permitted to travel using alternative routes provided by other operators. The final journey operated was the 18:30 departure from London Marylebone heading to Wrexham General.

Following cessation of operations, most rolling stock was reassigned to Chiltern Railways for deployment on its Birmingham-London corridor. Class 67 locomotives returned to DB Schenker’s general locomotive pool. The majority of employees found new roles within the rail sector.

Route

The service operated from via , , , , , , , and , continuing onward to and , taking one of two routes: either through , , and , or alternatively via and .

A Moderation of Competition clause within Virgin Trains’ Track Access Agreement with Network Rail prohibited Wrexham & Shropshire from stopping at several West Coast Main Line stations. Specifically, Birmingham New Street and Coventry were off-limits; stops were allowed at Wolverhampton and Birmingham International only for northbound passenger pick-up and southbound drop-off respectively, although southbound set-downs were not utilized.

To safeguard Chiltern Railways from revenue loss—despite both companies being under DB Regio ownership—northbound trains were restricted to pick up passengers only at Banbury, while southbound trains could only set down there. This limitation was lifted in December 2009 permitting stops at Leamington Spa; however, these stops were removed again in May 2010 after the Department for Transport identified revenue abstraction concerns affecting Chiltern Railways.

Alternative routes

Wrexham & Shropshire services frequently followed alternative paths during weekend engineering closures. When the Wrexham to Shrewsbury route was unavailable, trains operated from Wrexham General to Shrewsbury via Chester and Crewe. In cases where the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton section was shut, trains reversed direction at both Shrewsbury and Crewe before continuing through Stafford en route to Wolverhampton. If the segment south of Birmingham was closed, services were rerouted along the West Coast Main Line, passing through Willesden Junction, Acton Junction, and Ealing Broadway to reach South Ruislip, then reversed to access Marylebone. When the line between South Ruislip and Marylebone was closed, trains were diverted to London Paddington instead.

Service schedule

At launch, Wrexham & Shropshire provided five weekday departures connecting Wrexham and London, with journey durations around four hours and fifteen minutes. This schedule was formulated several years prior to commencement, primarily by planner John Liang.

In March 2009, weekday operations were scaled back to four daily trains, with one service curtailed to run only between London and Shrewsbury, attributing cancellations to the broader economic downturn. Between July and September 2010, an additional Saturday train was introduced, increasing weekend frequency. By December 2010, weekday service further declined to three trains per day due to inadequate passenger numbers.

Competing services

In February 2008, Virgin Trains revealed plans for a trial direct connection between Wrexham General and Euston starting December 2008. This included a morning southbound and an evening northbound train. Virgin’s offering utilized the West Coast Main Line via Chester and Crewe, deploying Class 221 Super Voyagers with an approximate journey time of two and a half hours—considerably quicker than Wrexham & Shropshire’s typical four-hour duration. Nevertheless, Virgin’s route bypassed stations located in Shropshire and the West Midlands.

Arriva Trains Wales sought approval to run two daily services from to London Marylebone but was denied in February 2010 over financial sustainability issues. DB Regio warned it would withdraw funding for Wrexham & Shropshire if Arriva’s proposal succeeded, potentially terminating their service.

Rolling stock

Operations employed a combination of a DB Schenker Class 67 locomotive, Mark 3 carriages, and a Driving Van Trailer. DB Regio procured former ex-Virgin West Coast Mark 3 coaches along with Driving Van Trailers, which underwent refurbishment at Marcroft Engineering in Stoke-on-Trent. A dedicated fleet of five Class 67 locomotives (numbers 012–015 plus an additional 010 added in April 2009) received repainting in Wrexham & Shropshire colors ahead of the April 2008 launch.

At the outset, Mark 3 carriages were not immediately available; therefore, sets were hired from Cargo-D and operated in a top-and-tail configuration with a Class 67 at each end. Driving Van Trailers entered operational use in October 2008, followed by the arrival of the first refurbished Mark 3s in September 2009. Initially, four train sets consisted of three Mark 3 coaches each; from May 2009 onward this increased to four coaches per set, although these additional vehicles lacked internal refurbishment.

Following service reductions in December 2010, one Mark 3 set was leased out to Chiltern Railways for peak-time journeys between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone.

Fleet

Class	Image	Type	Number	Maximum speed		Service route	Manufacture period
				mph	km/h
67		Diesel–electric locomotive	5	125	200	Wrexham to London Marylebone	1999–2000
Mark 3		Passenger coach	16				1975–1988
		Driving Van Trailer	5				1988–1990

Depots

The Mark 3 train sets were primarily housed at Chiltern Railways’ Aylesbury maintenance facility, with additional stabling arrangements at the Wembley depot and in the reactivated bay platforms located at the southern end of Wrexham General.

See also

• Railways of Shropshire