Telford Central railway station

Telford Central railway station serves the town of Telford, Shropshire, England. It is located on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) north west of Wolverhampton and is operated by West Midlands Trains. It is situated close to the Telford Shopping Centre, the main commercial district of the town.

Telford Central
General information
Location	Telford, Telford and Wrekin England
Grid reference	SJ702093
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Platforms	2
Train operators	West Midlands Railway Transport for Wales Avanti West Coast
Other information
Station code	TFC
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Opened	12 May 1986[1]
Passengers
2019/20	1.191 million
2020/21	0.205 million
Interchange	1,304
2021/22	0.698 million
Interchange	3,859
2022/23	0.883 million
Interchange	2,986
2023/24	1.016 million
Interchange	4,348
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Telford was designated as a new town in the 1960s and, until the 1980s, was served by two stations which predated its foundation: Oakengates and Wellington railway stations. Wellington was at one stage renamed "Wellington-Telford West" to indicate that it was located in the new town. (Until 1985, the line through the designated area also had a 'halt station' called New Hadley Halt, between Oakengates and Wellington.)

The situation changed in May 1986, when Telford Central opened. The new station was equipped with full-length platforms to accommodate inter-city trains. The development included a large car park, which took advantage of its location next to the M54 motorway to provide a park and ride facility. The £700,000^[a] cost was jointly funded by British Rail, the Telford Development Corporation and Shropshire County Council.

The station and car park were built on the former Hollinswood sidings that served the Lilleshall Company and local industry.^[2]

Facilities

The station is staffed all week, with the ticket office open Monday - Saturday 06:00 - 19:00 and Sunday 10:00 - 17:00. A ticket machine is provided in the booking hall for use outside these times and for the collection of pre-paid tickets. Until Summer 2020, a coffee kiosk and photo booth were located in the main building on Platform 1 (for Wolverhampton and Birmingham), although these were removed and replaced with a set of vending machines. Toilet facilities are also provided on Platform 1, whilst Platform 2 (Shrewsbury and beyond) has bench seating, a ticket machine and a waiting shelter only. CIS displays, automatic announcements and timetable posters provide train running information on both platforms. Step-free access is available to both platforms (via lifts and ramps accessed via the footbridge or public roads).^[3]

Services

Telford Central is served by two train operating companies, West Midlands Trains and Transport for Wales Rail with the following standard service:

Transport for Wales:^[4]

• 1 train per hour (tph) northbound to Shrewsbury, with alternate trains continuing to Pwllheli & Aberystwyth or Holyhead via Chester and Wrexham General. Two Chester-bound evening services extend to Llandudno and Manchester Piccadilly instead, via Warrington Bank Quay, respectively.
• 1tph southbound to Birmingham International, via Wolverhampton.

West Midlands Railway:^[5]

West Midlands serve the station using Class 196 Diesel multiple units.^[6]

• 2 tph northbound to Shrewsbury via Wellington, 1 tph calls at Oakengates.
• 2 tph southbound to Birmingham New Street via Wolverhampton.
  • Of which:
• 1 tph off-peak calls at all stations between Shrewsbury and Birmingham, calling at Tame Bridge Parkway only between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
• 1 tph off-peak calls only at Shifnal, Wolverhampton}} and Smethwick Galton Bridge.

Sunday services consist of an hourly fast service (Chester or Aberystwyth to Birmingham International), operated by Transport for Wales, and an hourly stopping service (Shrewsbury to Birmingham), operated by West Midlands Trains.^[7][8][9]

Former services to London

Although the station was built to accommodate inter-city trains to/from London Euston, British Rail services ceased in the early 1990s and Virgin Trains West Coast withdrew a short-lived trial daily service between Shrewsbury and London in 2000. A new company, Wrexham & Shropshire, reintroduced express services (to London Marylebone) on 28 April 2008; these were withdrawn on 28 January 2011. In December 2014, Virgin Trains re-introduced two daily services to and from London Euston.^[10][11]

Prior to the June 2024 timetable change, Avanti West Coast operated a daily direct service to and from London Euston via Birmingham New Street and Coventry, with Class 221s.^[10][12][13]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Shifnal		West Midlands Railway Birmingham – Wolverhampton – Shrewsbury		Oakengates or Wellington
		Transport for Wales Birmingham – Wolverhampton – Chester
Wolverhampton		Transport for Wales Cambrian Line		Wellington
		Transport for Wales Birmingham – Chester – Holyhead
	Proposed services
Wolverhampton		Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway		Shrewsbury
	Previous services
Cosford		Wrexham & Shropshire London – Wrexham		Wellington (Shropshire)
Wolverhampton		Avanti West Coast London – Shrewsbury

Notes

1. about £3 million today.

References

1. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2009). Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury. Midhurst: Middleton Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-906008-44-4.
2. Clarke, Neil (2015). Railways of East Shropshire. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-4456-4022-8.
3. "Telford Footbridge replacement". 22 August 2019.
4. "Timetables". Transport for Wales. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
5. "Train times | Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street | 2 June 2024 until 14 December 2024". West Midlands Railway.
6. "Class 196 Fleet". West Midlands Railway.
7. "Train timetables and schedules | Telford Central". West Midlands Railway.
8. "Train Times | 21 May - 9 September 2023 | Birmingham-Shrewsbury-Chester" (PDF). Transport for Wales Rail.
9. "Cambrian | Train Times | 21 May - 9 September 2023 | Birmingham-Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth-Pwllheli" (PDF). Transport for Wales Rail.
10. "Blackpool and Shrewsbury direct rail services to London approved". BBC News. 22 September 2014.
11. Table 66 National Rail timetable, May 2017
12. "Scheduled timetable book for 10 December 2023 to 1 June 2024" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
13. Page, Tim (21 February 2024). "Direct rail service to London to end". BBC News. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

External links

• Train times and station information for Telford Central railway station from National Rail

52.681°N 2.441°W / 52.681; -2.441