Wrexham & Shropshire Railway – Journeys in Manners

Sometimes traveling is about the destination and at other times it is about the journey. Ryanair is pure destination travel; scrumming for seats, fending off scratchcards, unjustifiable card fees etc. But it’s direct. Direct & unpleasant.

Wrexham & Shropshire Railway isn’t direct, but if you’re not in a hurry, it is very pleasant.

The southern terminus is Marylebone, rare in London in that it looks like a real railway station rather than a shopping mall with trains. The 6.45am to Wrexham service was hidden away on Platform 5 as if the big franchises can’t even bear to look at it. I took my reserved seat but there were plenty of spares. The staff apologised for the buffet car being the wrong way round and then we were off; out through Metroland and into pretty Midsomer country, all wrapped in morning mist.

We skirted the Cotswolds, rarely stopping and then only to pick up the odd passenger. There are restrictions on which stations the company can use and where they can pick up and put down. It became more apparent that W&S is a small player when we hit Birmingham. We creeped around the rusty outskirts and sat outside Villa Park for a while. “Scum of the earth” muttered a Brummie voice in the seat behind, referring, I think, to the Villa rather than inertia.

The delays are due to a pecking order established by the franchises. Our service is bullied down the signal queue by the other train operators. In fairness, these delays are factored into the timetable and both legs of my journey were on time.

Once clear of Birmingham we cruised through middle England. Lapworth, Dorridge, & Widney Manor flew past and I’d heard of none of these places. My destination was Shrewsbury, a tudor town currently drawing visitors through a Darwin anniversary theme. As we neared the Shropshire border, announcements were added in Welsh.

On the journey back the Marketing Director came through the carriage asking passengers if the journey met expectations. It’s a good question, what expectations do we have for our railways now? By traveling on a service like this that you realize what’s wrong with them, they've become dehumanized with their complex fares that are often undercut by the brash budget airlines.

Press articles on the W&S service regularly namecheck the Titfield Thunderbolt as if good manners and personalized service is something that can only be found in an Ealing studio.

W&S receives no government subsidy and has a simple fare structure. The sachets of mayonnaise were free and they stocked peppermint tea. The steward from the wrong-way-round buffet car bought my [freshly made] sandwich to my seat. In Standard Class! It’s tiny things like this that make a journey.