Wellington (Shropshire)  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_Railway_Station%2c_June_2022.jpg) 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 | 1 June 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 | ||||
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Wellington railway station serves the town ofWellington,Shropshire, England. It is situated on the formerGreat Western Railway'sLondon Paddington toBirkenhead viaBirmingham Snow Hill line. Trains are operated byWest Midlands Railway (who manage the station), andTransport for Wales.
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The station was built at the junction of theShrewsbury and Birmingham Railway with theShropshire Union Railways and Canal Company's line fromStafford viaNewport. It was opened on 1 June 1849.[1] The S&BR reachedWolverhampton later that year, but was frustrated in their attempts to reachBirmingham by theLondon and North Western Railway – it was not until both they and the neighbouringShrewsbury and Chester Railway became part theGreat Western Railway in November 1854 trains could run toBirmingham Snow Hill.[2] Wellington thereafter was jointly run by theLNWR andGWR until the1923 Grouping.
It subsequently also became a busy junction interchange station, serving lines north toMarket Drayton (theWellington and Drayton Railway opened in 1867[3]) and south (theWellington and Severn Junction Railway toCoalbrookdale, 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 andNantwich following in September 1963[4] and the Stafford line almost exactly a year later under theBeeching 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 toLondon Paddington via this route), with trains henceforth diverted to the ex-LNWR High Level station at Wolverhampton and onwards toBirmingham New Street over theStour Valley Line.[5]
The station was formerly home to a small three-roadengine shed and acoaling plant which was originally designated "WLN" under the GWR from 1939-1949, then under British Railways it received theshed 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 beingLMS Ivatt 2MT no 41241 andGWR 5700 no 7754, at theKeighley and Worth Valley Railway and theLlangollen Railway respectively.
The town of Wellington was designated as part of thenew town ofTelford 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. AfterTelford Central station opened in 1986, Wellington eventually reverted to its original name, although this did not happen for a number of years.[6]
At its peak, the station had six platforms in operation, but as of June 2024, it has only three: twothrough platforms and onebay platform.[7] Platform 3, the remaining bay platform, is now out of regular use following the withdrawal of the Wellington toWalsall local service. It is only semi-regularly visited bytrack maintenance or cleaning units, but sees very rare use by regular services in emergencies.
A disusedbay 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 upisland platform) can be seen from the car park behind platform 1.
In late 2009-early 2010 the station was refurbished byLondon Midland.
The station has a ticket office on platform 2 that is staffed part-time. Aticket 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.[8]
In 2024, a small restaurant opened on Platform 2.
As of December 2023[update], Wellington is currently served by two trains per hour off-peak each way betweenBirmingham New Street andShrewsbury, one operated byWest Midlands Railway and the other byTransport for Wales. Transport for Wales' service operates to/fromBirmingham International and runs limited stop, whilst the West Midlands railway services serves local stations.[9] TfW Rail trains continue beyond Shrewsbury alternately either toAberystwyth andPwllheli (combined portion service) or toHolyhead viaChester andLlandudno Junction. There are also two services toLlandudno (one on weekends) and one toManchester Piccadilly, viaWarrington Bank Quay on weekday evenings. On Sundays, hourly services are provided by Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway.
The through trains toWalsall were withdrawn in December 2008.[10] These recommenced in May 2019, following an introduction of two early morning services a week starting at Walsall and continuing toShrewsbury via Wellington. They were operated as extensions of theShrewsbury to Birmingham Line. This replaced the formerLiverpool 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 theGWR, latterly BR Western Region, express services betweenLondon Paddington andBirkenhead 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 onWrexham & Shropshire's service betweenWrexham General andLondon Marylebone.
Avanti West Coast formerly ran one daily service to and fromLondon Euston on theWest Coast Main Line, via Birmingham andCoventry, usingClass 221Super Voyager units.[11] These began at the December 2014 timetable change withVirgin Trains.[12] This was withdrawn in June 2024.[13]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telford Central orOakengates | 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 | ||
