Gobowen railway station is a railway station on the
Shrewsbury to Chester Line of the former
Great Western Railway's
London Paddington to
Birkenhead Woodside via
Birmingham Snow Hill line, serving the village of
Gobowen
Gobowen is a village in Shropshire, England, about 3 miles north of Oswestry. The population according to the 2011 census was 3,270.
History
The village was previously called ''Bryn-y-Castell'' ("Hill of the Castle" in English) after the House ...
in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
, England. It is the nearest station to the town of
Oswestry.
Gobowen station is north west of
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969.
The station is north west of Birmingham New Street. Many services starting at or passing through the stati ...
.
History
The station building was designed by
Thomas Mainwaring Penson, and is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The station was built between 1846 and 1848 by the
Shrewsbury and Chester Railway in a notable
Florentine (or
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
) style with white stucco facing and a small turret. The awnings and the footbridge were added later by the
Great Western Railway (the footbridge was demolished in 1987). Although a very small village, Gobowen was the junction station for the much larger regional town of
Oswestry some three miles away. When rail services to
Oswestry ceased in November 1966, Gobowen was retained as the railhead for the surrounding area. There is a scheme in progress to open this branch as a heritage railway. Until 1967 Gobowen was served by the GWR, latterly
BR Western Region, express services between
London Paddington and
Birkenhead Woodside.
Severn-Dee Travel was established in 1995 and managed by the late David Lloyd, who was also a keen campaigner for the restoration of a direct rail link between the area and London. Following his death, the
Wrexham & Shropshire
Wrexham & Shropshire (legally ''Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited'') was an open access operator that provided passenger rail services in the United Kingdom. Services between Wrexham and London Marylebone operated from A ...
locomotive
67015 was named in his honour, and a replica nameplate from the locomotive can be seen in the booking office.
Future
Gobowen station may become the northern terminus of the proposed
Cambrian Heritage Railways line to
Llynclys,
Pant and
Blodwel via
Oswestry.
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...
was to acquire the coal yard at Gobowen for railway-related uses, including car parking for the station. If the plans are fully realised, the station would have three platforms, one of which would be for the Heritage Railway.
Gobowen is also planned to have direct services to and from
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
by
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
from December 2022 after extension of the service between London Euston and
Wrexham General
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county o ...
.
Facilities
The main building, which was renovated in 2005, is used as small business space. The booking office is now located in the waiting room on the southbound platform. Unusually, it is not operated directly by the train operating company but by an independent travel agent, Severn-Dee Travel. It is staffed on weekdays from 07:15 to 16:00 and on Saturdays from 07:15 to midday. At other times tickets must be purchased on the train.
A vending machine and disabled access toilet is located in the ticket hall. Train running information is offered via
CIS displays, timetable posters and automatic announcements. Level access to both platforms is via the manned barrier
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...
at the north end which is controlled from the adjacent
signal box.
There are no waiting shelters, but canopies are provided on both platforms:
* Platform 1 - For southbound services to Shrewsbury, Cardiff Central or Birmingham New Street
* Platform 2 - For northbound services to Wrexham General, Chester or Holyhead
Services
, train services run on two routes:
*
Transport for Wales service from
Birmingham International to
Holyhead.
*
Transport for Wales service from
Holyhead to
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
.
These combine to give a basic hourly frequency between Shrewsbury and (Mon - Sat). Two early morning northbound trains terminate short at on weekdays (one of which connects with the
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
service to
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
), whilst one morning and one evening train start from there. Others at the start and end of day run between Chester and Shrewsbury only, though there is also one late evening weekday through train to
Manchester Piccadilly and three that run to rather than Holyhead (with one in the opposite direction). On Sundays, there is a two-hourly service (with occasional extras) each way, mostly running between Chester and Birmingham International (though there are three trains to Holyhead and two to Cardiff).
[GB eNRT December 2018 Edition, Table 75]
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership*
{{Shropshire railway stations
Grade II listed buildings in Shropshire
Grade II listed railway stations
Railway stations in Shropshire
DfT Category E stations
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail
Thomas Mainwaring Penson railway stations