Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 12 September at 7pm at the Castle Hotel Wem. The meeting is timed so that you can get there and back by train. Please let us know you are coming on contact_us@caspa.org.uk
Who we are
CASPA is the passenger association covering the stations of Crewe to Shrewsbury including the intermediate stations at Nantwich, Wrenbury, Whitchurch, Prees, Wem and Yorton. The Association aims to promote, encourage and improve the use of the rail services in this route. The Association is open to all members of the public, and we welcome new members at any time. We meet regularly for meetings in Shrewsbury and also with Transport for Wales to share our views on necessary changes and improvements to rail services and stations along the line.
TfW report on new trains entering service
We see a report in June from TfW about new trains coming to service. This is a report on all TfW services and not just our line. You can see it here: https://news.tfw.wales/blog/cyflwyno-ein-trenau-newydd-cwestiynau-cyffredin There are no surprises here. 175s are gone and 150s are going as they come up for major repiars. The new 197s are coming into service and they are promising to run South Wales-Manchester services to five carriages on every train in the next year. Most trains have been either two or three carriages for many years.The loco hauled mk4 coach trains are getting more reliable.
New timetables for June 2024
TfW timetables are changing from Sunday 2 June so please check before you travel. An overview of the most significant changes can be found on TfW web site here For us the change identified is 21:55 Cardiff – Crewe (Friday only) will now terminate Shrewsbury. With an additional service 00:17 Shrewsbury – Crewe. The new timetable booklet download is here: New timetables for June 2024
Line closure Saturday 25th May to Monday 27th May
The Crewe to Shrewsbury line is closed from Sat 25th May to Mon 27th May (inclusive) over the next Bank Holiday weekend with rail replacement services and diversions in place. Normal service will resume on Tues 28th May. Nantwich News reports the details here: https://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2024/05/17/rail-passengers-in-nantwich-warned-of-bank-holiday-disruption/
TfW user group meeting April 24
We attended a user group session with TfW in April. It was a three hour marathon with many senior reps there. They handled many questions via the chat system and most things got covered. They committed to going back to answer other points. Some speakers were very clear and readily understood. Others mumbled through their bit clearly not suited for public facing. This was a national event so there was a lot of local stuff being injected, but TfW handled it well. At the end there were break out sessions by region, and we were able to get a few […]
Class 175 withdrawn
We see that TfW has sent the Class 175 units off hire from mid October 2023. They are returned to their owner Angel Trains for redeployment. Some have gone to Ilford, and others are in store in Wales. Their future is uncertain. Angel Trains promotion is here: https://angeltrains.co.uk/fleet/class-175/
News on TfW rolling stock
In the October issue of Modern Railways there is some information on the TfW rolling stock. It is reported that: Class 197s 77 units on order, 32 units accepted by early September, ongoing into service one per week Class 153 30 in fleet, 26 in service, 13 to be retained long term for HoW etc Class 150 38 units in service, all to leave by mid 2025, including 2 from Northern. Class 158 24 units in fleet, all in service Class 175 27 units (2 and 3 cars) 17 in service, all to go by end 2023 Mk4 and 67 […]
Disruption w/c 25 September 2023
Please be aware of changes to the TfW timetable this week. These are as a result of track maintenance south of Shrewsbury, where single line working will take place. This all has a knock on effect of the through trains from Manchester to Wales and the west. Many of these will run fast both ways from Crewe and Shrewsbury, and others have reduced stops. One of the morning commuter services northbound is a bus replacement. It appears that the shuttle will run as normal. There is no information on the TfW web site on this and we have made a […]
Class 197 in revenue service
We have seen Class 197s in revenue earning service today on the Shrewsbury Crewe section. A three car unit operated the shuttle all day and then a 2×2 car unit operated a Cardiff Manchester diagram. Lets us hope this is not a one off. TfW may have entered a new phase.
Timetable change 22nd May
Alongside all other operators, TfW will be making changes to the timetables. For our line the changes are very minor. For weekdays: Ex Shrewsbury 1956 was 1950 fast to Crewe 2035 was 2033 all stations 2207 was 2208.all stations Ex Crewe 0558 was 0557 all stations 0920 was 0910 all stations 2318 was 2314 all stations Northbound The pinch point of the morning northbound commuting connection at Crewe remains intact. (arrives 06.15 leaves 0629) Southbound The important connection remains intact at Crewe at arriving 1710 leaves 1719, The last train from Manchester (2235) is the same. The Friday only change […]