Chirk railway station serves the town of Chirk

Chirk

Chirk is a small town and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It has a population of over 4,000....

 in the county borough of Wrexham

Wrexham (county borough)

Wrexham is a county borough centred on the town of Wrexham in north-east Wales. The county borough has a population of 130,200 inhabitants. Just under half of the population live either within the town of Wrexham or its surrounding conurbation of urban villages. The remainder living to the south...

, Wales. Chirk station is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line

Shrewsbury to Chester Line

The Shrewsbury to Chester Line, also known as the Severn–Dee Line , was built in 1846 as the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway...

, which is part of the former Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside.
The original 19th century (grade 2 listed) Chirk / Y Waun station building was demolished in 1987, without consultation, by the local council.

Chirk was also the eastern terminus and transfer point for the Glyn Valley Tramway

Glyn Valley Tramway

The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire , Wales. The gauge of the line was...

.

Historical services

According to the Official Handbook of Stations

Official Handbook of Stations

The Official Handbook of Stations was a large listing all the passenger and goods stations and private sidings on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland...

 the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C and there was a 15 cwt crane. At one time there was also a private siding into the Cadbury's factory from where cocoa liquor was sent to the chocolate factory at Bournville

Bournville railway station

Bournville railway station serves the Bournville area of Birmingham, England. It is on the Cross-City Line which runs from Redditch to Lichfield via Birmingham New Street.-History:...

.

The Railway itself superseded the canal that runs parallel to the rail for the transportation of coal and other goods.

Current services

Passenger
Trains run on two routes operated by Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

:

• Hourly northbound service to Holyhead
  Holyhead railway station
  Holyhead railway station serves the town of Holyhead on Holy Island, Anglesey. It is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, although Virgin Trains also serves it....
  
   via Wrexham General
  Wrexham General railway station
  Wrexham General railway station is a main line railway station and the main railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, but services are also provided by Virgin Trains who operate a service to London Euston...
  
   and Chester
  Chester railway station
  Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
  
  .
• Hourly southbound service to Shrewsbury
  Shrewsbury railway station
  Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...
  
   then continuing alternately to give a 2 hourly service to both Birmingham International
  Birmingham International railway station
  Birmingham International railway station is located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham in England.The station is on the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line 14 km east of Birmingham New Street and serves both Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition...
  
   and Cardiff Central
  Cardiff Central railway station
  Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
  
  

Freight
To the north of Chirk station on the Up (southbound) side of the line is a private siding into the Kronospan

Kronospan

Kronospan is an international company that manufactures and distributes wood-based panels which are used in many everyday products such as flooring, furniture and timber-framed houses....

 chipboard factory. The siding receives a trainload of softwood from Kingmoor Yard, Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 five days a week (Monday to Friday), and additionally, between the months of April and October, up to three trains a week of softwood from Ribblehead

Ribblehead

Ribblehead is the area of moorland at the head of the River Ribble in the area known as Ribblesdale, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, England....

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

. Since 2007 these timber trains have been operated to the Chirk Kronospan factory by Colas Rail Ltd.

External links

• Chester to Shrewsbury Rail Partnership

• Chirk station on navigable 1946 O.S. map