Ruabon railway station (Welsh: Rhiwabon) is a combined rail and bus interchange serving Ruabon, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is the second busiest station in Wrexham County Borough in terms of passenger journeys, after the mainline station, Wrexham General. It is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line, which is part of the former Great Western Railway mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside which lasted until 1967.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014)

Ruabon Welsh: Rhiwabon
The station building
General information
Location	Ruabon, Wrexham Wales
Coordinates	52.987176°N 3.043363°W / 52.987176; -3.043363
Grid reference	SJ303438
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Line(s)	Shrewsbury–Chester
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	RUA
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Opened	4 November 1846
Passengers
2016/17	90,964
2017/18	95,670
2018/19	98,536
2019/20	99,122
2020/21	20,632
Listed Building – Grade II
Feature	Ruabon Railway Station
Designated	24 February 1983
Reference no.	1719[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Ruabon station was originally larger than at present, with an extensive marshalling yard with a turntable and goods depot accompanying it, and was the terminus of the Ruabon to Barmouth line which ran via Llangollen, Corwen and Dolgellau.[2] This branch line was a victim of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, closing to passengers in 1965 and completely three years later.[3] The bay platform serving this route can still be seen at the station, whilst the old goods yard has been redeveloped as a housing estate.

The original station building was Italianate in style and was designed by the architect Thomas Penson and opened on 4 November 1846.[4] However, this was replaced by the current neo-Tudor style stone buildings,[5] designed by Henry Robertson, in 1860. In 1870, refreshment rooms were added between the platforms serving Chester and Barmouth.[4]

Following further cuts in the national railway service, Ruabon station became an unstaffed halt in 1974. Only parts of both main platforms are now in use.

In 2009, Ruabon station was refurbished at a cost of £70,000.[6] New shelters, lighting and passenger information system screens were provided as part of the Welsh Assembly-funded project.

Facilities

As noted, the station is unmanned but has a ticket vending machine where tickets must be purchased or collected before boarding. The main buildings on platform 2 are privately occupied. Train running information is offered via digital displays, automatic announcements, timetable posters and customer help points on each platform. Step-free access is only provided on platform 2, as platform 1 can only be reached via a footbridge with stairs.[7] Ruabon Station is the only station on the Chester-Shrewsbury Line without step-free access. The stairs cause major problems for the disabled with passengers wishing to alight here being advised to go to Wrexham and return on the next train south. Access for those with prams and pushchairs is also very difficult if not impossible and a struggle for those with luggage or those less mobile.[8]

Services

Currently, trains run on two routes operated by Transport for Wales:

• 1tph to Wrexham General

- Usually continues to Chester and Holyhead

• 1tph to Shrewsbury

- Usually continues to either Birmingham International or Cardiff Central via Hereford (two-hourly to each)

A two-hourly service operates on Sundays to Chester and Birmingham International, with limited additional services to Cardiff and Holyhead.[9]

Until January 2011 the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway provided regular daily services between Wrexham and London. This service ceased due to a continuing loss being made by the company.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Chirk		Transport for Wales Shrewsbury to Wrexham General Line		Wrexham General
	Historical railways
Rhosymedre Halt		Great Western Railway Shrewsbury to Chester Line		Wynnville Halt
Acrefair		Great Western Railway Ruabon to Barmouth Line		Terminus

Weekday bus services

• 6 buses per hour to Cefn Mawr (operated by GHA coaches and Arriva Midland)
  • Of which 2 per hour continue to Chirk and Oswestry (Arriva Midland)
• 4 buses an hour to Llangollen (Arriva service 5)
• 1 bus per two hours to Barmouth via Llangollen and Corwen (Lloyds Coaches service T3)
• 10 buses an hour to Wrexham Bus Station (Arriva, GHA, Lloyds)

Gallery

• 
  Along platform 1
• 
  The station footbridge
• 
  An Arriva Trains Wales Class 158 waits at the Shrewsbury-bound platform.
• 
  The view from the footbridge

References

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Ruabon to Barmouth. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 1-5. ISBN 9781906008840. OCLC 651922152.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Shrewsbury to Chester. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 55-64. ISBN 9781906008703. OCLC 495274299.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruabon railway station.

• Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership
• Train times and station information for Ruabon railway station from National Rail