Rail customers across Shropshire and North Wales are being warned of disruption due to damaged trains.

Transport for Wales, which recently took over the franchise from Arriva Trains Wales, has said there will be service disruption and timetable changes throughout the next week.

The company said ongoing issues associated with recent storms in combination with ageing trains have led to an "unprecedented" number of trains being out of service.

It added that priority was being given to the areas of greatest need.

Locally, it means the 06:10 Shrewsbury - Wrexham General will be cancelled with customers advised to travel on the 07:00 Shrewsbury - Wrexham General, while the 20.49 Wrexham General – Shrewsbury will also be cancelled with customers advised to travel on the 21:38 Wrexham General - Birmingham New St.

Colin Lea, Customer Experience Director for Transport for Wales Rail Services, said around a third of trains are out of service.

He continued: “We are committed to delivering the best possible service for passengers and we apologise for the short notice changes to services and reduced number of trains in operation.

“Safety is out top priority and many of our trains are too damaged to run. This means we have around 20 less trains available to us than normal. Progress is being made and we have sent trains away to other parts of the UK for repair, plus running our depot repair equipment around the clock with staff working overtime through the night. This equipment, which we inherited from the previous operator, is however 33 years old and is not as effective as more modern kit.

“The scale of the situation means that we do not expect to be able to return to the normal level of service for a further two to three weeks. As trains are repaired they will of course be returned to use immediately. Wherever possible, we aim to provide bus alternatives to train services where the shortage of trains it most affected, and enable tickets to be used on other public transport providers and alternative train operators. We thank them for their help in this difficult situation.

“Ahead of autumn next year, we have committed to invest in additional and better trains, more modern depot repair equipment and also in technology to help when train wheels slide on the rails (a form of anti-lock braking). We remain resolutely focused on delivering the best possible service for passengers today, whilst planning for a better future and transformation in time.”