TRAINS will not be running through north Shropshire because of serious flooding, Transport for Wales (TfW) has confirmed.

After heavy rains through the county throughout Wednesday, the rail operator said that because of serious flooding at Gobowen railway station, services between Shrewsbury and Chester – including Chirk – will be cancelled until the end of the day.

The same applies to services from Shrewsbury through to Crewe which call at Wem, Whitchurch and Wrenbury, with flooding at Yorton, near Wem, causing serious issues.

On its journey planner website, TfW confirmed the delays are expected to last for a number of hours.

A spokesman said: “Network Rail has reported heavy rain flooding the railway in the Gobowen and Wem area and closed the railway to all services.

“You cannot travel by train – there are no trains running.

“A very limited replacement bus service will be running, shuttling between Shrewsbury and Crewe, and also Shrewsbury and Chester.

“Your journey will take significantly longer than normal.

“You can use your ticket to complete your journey at no extra cost with:

  • West Midlands Railway and London North Western Railway to travel between Chester and Shrewsbury via Crewe and Wolverhampton.
  • West Midlands Railway between Hereford and Birmingham New Street.
    Cross Country Trains between Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central
    Avanti Trains between Crewe and Birmingham New Street.

“If you are unable to complete your journey today, you'll be able to use your ticket to travel tomorrow at no extra cost.

“Please check your journey at www.tfw.wales”

The Shrewsbury to Chester line was earlier closed because of a falling tree between Chirk and Ruabon.