A proposed test station on the Wrexham-Bidston line would replace an existing calling point that is “very poorly used”.
A proposed test station on the Wrexham-Bidston line would replace an existing calling point that is “very poorly used”.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates announced a Deeside Industrial Park test station as part of the Welsh government’s unveiling of Network North Wales, which aims to bring metro-style services to the region.
Speaking to RAIL, Skates said the idea was inspired by the temporary Workington North station on the Cumbrian Coast Line in 2009-10, which was built for the town after flood damage temporarily severed the route.
“It’s not been done to test demand, but it has been done as a replacement for a station that’s been badly damaged,” he said.
Around 10,000 people are employed at Deeside Industrial Park, to the north-west of Chester. Currently, it’s only possible to reach the site by road.
The test station would replace Hawarden Bridge, south of the industrial park and which Skates described as “very poorly used”. Office of Rail and Road data shows the station had 2,356 entries and exits between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.
Skates added: “My proposal is that we bring in a temporary test station, close Hawarden Bridge, and that will then justify to Network Rail introducing this sort of innovation.
“There is incredible potential patronage for a service, if there is a station at the heart of Deeside Industrial Estate. Pretty much everybody on that industrial estate has to drive to work, with no other choice.”
Skates said having the test station replace an existing calling point could help Network Rail, which might be wary of “calls from communities across the length and breadth of Britain”.
A Network Rail spokesman added: “The idea of a new station at Deeside Industrial Park remains in the early concept stage and is currently being explored in collaboration with stakeholders.”
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Dr P. N. Jarvis - 04/06/2025 16:32
We all know railways that whistle through populous places where traffic is to be had, yet the stations are ill-sited. A flexible approach to building stations, and quicker ways of building them, may seem appropriate. For example, a station platform was moved from Fenny Stratford to Bedford St Johns some years since, and now it is proposed to rebuild both. How sensible.