Warning on Shropshire and Mid Wales train services over main line closure

Arriva Trains Wales says services from Shrewsbury to Chester and the north Wales coast along with services between Crewe and Birmingham will be busier than usual on Sunday and Monday.

Network Rail will close the line between Crewe and Stafford for improvement work which means Virgin Trains will be ending their rail services at Stafford and not running services along the North Wales coast.

Passengers for services via Chester and Crewe will be diverted via Shrewsbury resulting in more passengers using Arriva Trains Wales' services.

Claire Lillie, Arriva Trains Wales spokesperson said: "We will be adding extra capacity to our services where possible and on some routes replacement buses will be on standby, however we are still expecting services to be busy.

"Also, on Monday, Crewe Alexandra will be playing a local derby at home against Shrewsbury Town, placing extra demand on our services in the area."

The news comes amid plans for Arriva train drivers to hold a 24-hour strike in the new year.

Members of the Aslef union will walk out on January 4 – when many people will be returning to work after the Christmas break – and will ban overtime from December 28.

The action comes after the union accused the train company of reneging on a deal aimed at resolving a row over pay.

The current base salary for a driver is £43,869 which will rise to £44,966 but rail unions say the issue is the unwillingness of ATW to table an adequate pay offer despite unions postponing previous strike action to allow for further discussions.

Arriva last week said it had offered dates this week for talks between the two – but no further update has been announced.