Wellington railway station (Shropshire)

Wellington (Shropshire)
View of the station facing west towards Shrewsbury (June 2022).
General information
Location	Wellington, Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire England
Grid reference	SJ651116
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	WLN
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	1849
Passengers
2019/20	0.705 million
2020/21	0.182 million
2021/22	0.470 million
2022/23	0.547 million
2023/24	0.606 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Wellington railway station serves the town of Wellington, Shropshire, England. It is situated on the former Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. Trains are operated by West Midlands Railway (who manage the station), and Transport for Wales.

History

Up 'Cambrian Coast Express' in 1960

The station was built at the junction of the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway with the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company's line from Stafford via Newport. It was opened on 1 June 1849. The S&BR reached Wolverhampton later that year, but was frustrated in their attempts to reach Birmingham by the London and North Western Railway – it was not until both they and the neighbouring Shrewsbury and Chester Railway became part the Great Western Railway in November 1854 trains could run to Birmingham Snow Hill. Wellington thereafter was jointly run by the LNWR and GWR until the 1923 Grouping.

A steam excursion passes Platform 2

It subsequently also became a busy junction interchange station, serving lines north to Market Drayton (the Wellington and Drayton Railway opened in 1867) and south (the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway to Coalbrookdale, opened in 1857) as well as that to Stafford. All three branches closed to passengers in the early 1960s – the Coalbrookdale line being the first to go in July 1962, that to Market Drayton and Nantwich following in September 1963 and the Stafford line almost exactly a year later under the Beeching cuts in 1964. Services to Birmingham Snow Hill via Wolverhampton Low Level finally ended in March 1968 (a year after the ending of through trains to London Paddington via this route), with trains henceforth diverted to the ex-LNWR High Level station at Wolverhampton and onwards to Birmingham New Street over the Stour Valley Line.

The station was formerly home to a small three-road engine shed and a coaling plant which was originally designated "WLN" under the GWR from 1939-1949, then under British Railways it received the shed code 84H from 1950-1963. It became shed 2M for one year and was closed on the 10th of August 1964. A car park now occupies the site. Two of the locomotives which were allocated to the shed over its lifetime are preserved; those being LMS Ivatt 2MT no 41241 and GWR 5700 no 7754, at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and the Llangollen Railway respectively.

The town of Wellington was designated as part of the new town of Telford in the 1960s. As Telford did not have its own railway station at first, Wellington station was renamed "Wellington – Telford West" to indicate that it now served the new town. After Telford Central station opened in 1986, Wellington eventually reverted to its original name, although this did not happen for a number of years.

At its peak, the station had six platforms in operation, but as of June 2024, it has only three: two through platforms and one bay platform. Platform 3, the remaining bay platform, is now out of regular use following the withdrawal of the Wellington to Walsall local service. It is only semi-regularly visited by track maintenance or cleaning units, but sees very rare use by regular services in emergencies.

A track maintenance unit in Platform 3

A disused bay platform can be seen directly adjacent to Platform 3, which has been transformed into a small garden by volunteers. Traces of another defunct platform face (the outer side of the old up island platform) can be seen from the car park behind platform 1.

In late 2009-early 2010 the station was refurbished by London Midland.

Facilities

The station has a ticket office on platform 2 that is staffed part-time. A ticket vending machine is provided on platform 1 for use outside these hours, which can also be used for collecting advance purchase tickets. There are canopied waiting areas on both sides, with toilets adjoining the booking hall on platform 2. Train running information is offered via automated announcements, CIS displays, timetable poster boards and a help point on both platforms. Step-free access is part available to all platforms.

In 2024, a small restaurant opened on Platform 2.

Services

A West Midlands Railway service to Birmingham New Street calls at Wellington

As of December 2023, Wellington is currently served by two trains per hour off-peak each way between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury, one operated by West Midlands Railway and the other by Transport for Wales. Transport for Wales' service operates to/from Birmingham International and runs limited stop, whilst the West Midlands railway services serves local stations. TfW Rail trains continue beyond Shrewsbury alternately either to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli (combined portion service) or to Holyhead via Chester and Llandudno Junction. There are also two services to Llandudno (one on weekends) and one to Manchester Piccadilly, via Warrington Bank Quay on weekday evenings. On Sundays, hourly services are provided by Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway.

The through trains to Walsall were withdrawn in December 2008. These recommenced in May 2019, following an introduction of two early morning services a week starting at Walsall and continuing to Shrewsbury via Wellington. They were operated as extensions of the Shrewsbury to Birmingham Line. This replaced the former Liverpool Lime Street service. However, in December 2019, following problems with services and disruptions. The Walsall service was once again withdrawn.

Until March 1967 Wellington was served by the GWR, latterly BR Western Region, express services between London Paddington and Birkenhead Woodside; these were withdrawn upon the commissioning of the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. Between 28 April 2008 and 28 January 2011, Wellington was a stop on Wrexham & Shropshire's service between Wrexham General and London Marylebone.

Avanti West Coast formerly ran one daily service to and from London Euston on the West Coast Main Line, via Birmingham and Coventry, using Class 221 Super Voyager units. These began at the December 2014 timetable change with Virgin Trains. This was withdrawn in June 2024.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Telford Central or Oakengates		West Midlands Railway Birmingham – Wolverhampton – Shrewsbury		Shrewsbury
		Transport for Wales Birmingham – Chester
Telford Central		Transport for Wales Cambrian Line		Shrewsbury
	Disused railways
Terminus		Great Western Railway Wellington and Severn Junction Railway		Ketley Line and station closed
Admaston Line open, station closed		London and North Western Railway Stafford to Shrewsbury Line		Hadley Line and station closed
Longdon Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Wellington and Drayton Railway		Terminus

Bibliography

• Cryer, Geoff (2014). Shropshire Railways. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-84797-691-8.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2008). Craven Arms to Wellington. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 106-120. ISBN 9781906008338. OCLC 750867075.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2009). Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 94-100. ISBN 9781906008444. OCLC 286385795.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Branch Lines around Market Drayton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 1-12. ISBN 9781908174673. OCLC 913791564.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Stafford to Wellington. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 53-69. ISBN 9781908174598. OCLC 897871462.

External links

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