New Shropshire bus service linking railway stations

[AlanL]

A new really useful bus service started on Mon 5th January, the 340 bus service linking Whitchurch (with its railway station) with Market Drayton and onto Wellington (with its bus station adjacent to the railway station).

This bus service has an almost hourly service from around 0700 - 1800, and is operated by D and G buses (on behalf of Shropshire Council) and they have produced a really useful timetable leaflet with the route, full timetable and notes about each town on the route.

The timetable leaflet is also available at Wellington railway station ticket office and online at www.dgbus.co.uk - This is a good example of how to promote a new bus service with proper timetable leaflets.

New Whitchurch to Wellington bus service to begin on 5 January - Shropshire Council Newsroom

A new bus service between Whitchurch, Market Drayton, the Princess Royal Hospital and Wellington bus station will begin on 5 January 2026

newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk

A new bus service between Whitchurch, Market Drayton, the Princess Royal Hospital and Wellington bus station will begin on 5 January 2026, after a contract to operate the service was awarded to D&G Buses.

The new service, numbered the 340, will be funded from the council’s recent allocation of Government bus service improvement funding for the year 2025/26.

 

[Nottingham59]

A new really useful bus service started on Mon 5th January, the 340 bus service linking Whitchurch (with its railway station) with Market Drayton and onto Wellington (with its bus station adjacent to the railway station). This bus service has an almost hourly service from around 7am to 6pm and is operated by D and G buses (on behalf of Shropshire Council) and they have produced a really useful timetable leaflet with the route, full timetable and notes about each town on the route. The timetable leaflet is also available at Wellington railway station ticket office and online at www.dgbus.co.uk - This is a good example of how to promote a new bus service with proper timetable leaflets.

How convenient are the bus/rail connections at each station?

 

[Lewisham2221]

How convenient are the bus/rail connections at each station?

Not great at the Whitchurch end - the nearest bus stop is over half a mile away.

As an example, to travel from Market Drayton to Manchester, the 11:35 departure gets to Whitchurch (Ambulance Station) at 12.02. Google Maps has the walk from bus stop to railway station at 0.6 miles & 14 minutes (granted, many people will be able to beat Googles walking times - but there's also many that won't). The Manchester train departs at 12:11...

 

[AlanL]

Not great at the Whitchurch end - the nearest bus stop is over half a mile away.

As an example, to travel from Market Drayton to Manchester, the 11:35 departure gets to Whitchurch (Ambulance Station) at 12.02. Google Maps has the walk from bus stop to railway station at 0.6 miles & 14 minutes (granted, many people will be able to beat Googles walking times - but there's also many that won't). The Manchester train departs at 12:11...

Yes, the rail connections at Whitchurch are not very good, but it is much easier and better at Wellington station with the bus station next to the railway station (2 min walk) and three trains an hour to both Birmingham and Shrewsbury.

So passengers from Market Drayton will be much better served by going to Wellington for most rail connections, and this new bus service will be of help to those in the Market Drayton area.

The paper timetable is an excellent example of good promotion of public transport mentioning the rail links at both ends of the route.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

A new really useful bus service started on Mon 5th January, the 340 bus service linking Whitchurch (with its railway station) with Market Drayton and onto Wellington (with its bus station adjacent to the railway station). This bus service has an almost hourly service from around 7am to 6pm and is operated by D and G buses (on behalf of Shropshire Council) and they have produced a really useful timetable leaflet with the route, full timetable and notes about each town on the route. The timetable leaflet is also available at Wellington railway station ticket office and online at www.dgbus.co.uk - This is a good example of how to promote a new bus service with proper timetable leaflets.

Would you be able to share a direct link to the leaflet on the website? I've had a look and I can't find a leaflet as described, just a basic PDF timetable

 

[vlad]

As an example, to travel from Market Drayton to Manchester, the 11:35 departure gets to Whitchurch (Ambulance Station) at 12.02. Google Maps has the walk from bus stop to railway station at 0.6 miles & 14 minutes (granted, many people will be able to beat Googles walking times - but there's also many that won't). The Manchester train departs at 12:11...

I appreciate Whitchurch is fairly close but would you go that way? I've checked on Traveline and it recommends going via Shrewsbury or Stoke to get between Market Drayton and Manchester.

 

[AlanL]

Would you be able to share a direct link to the leaflet on the website? I've had a look and I can't find a leaflet as described, just a basic PDF timetable

I have not got a copy of the leaflet but there is a picture of it on twitter on the @Wellingtonstat1 twitter feed

 

[Lewisham2221]

I appreciate Whitchurch is fairly close but would you go that way? I've checked on Traveline and it recommends going via Shrewsbury or Stoke to get between Market Drayton and Manchester.

Well no, you wouldn't, because the connections don't really work.

I was just pointing out that it doesn't really improve anything connection wise at the Whitchurch end.

The connections at Wellington for travel towards Birmingham look better, though I've not checked the return connection. Market Drayton already has an hourly bus service towards Shrewsbury which would be the "default" for most other rail connections.

 

[Llandudno]

Is there not enough slack or turnaround time for the bus to continue to Whitchurch station?

 

[Nottingham59]

Is there not enough slack or turnaround time for the bus to continue to Whitchurch station?

I'd be very surprised if more than one passenger in a hundred on that bus on its way into Whitchurch would be heading for the station

 

[chris_in_salop]

I wish them well! It may not be commercially viable to begin with, but it fills an annoying missing link in Shropshire's bus network. I've long felt that there ought to be better links between Drayton and Telford.

 

[Russel]

Lets hope it's a success.

Ive always found much of Shropshire to be poorly serviced by all forms of public transport.

 

[satters]

Market Drayton did have its own Railway station before the Marples / Beeching cuts,
on lines to Stoke & Nantwich - Wellington,
perhaps this bus route could count as a rail replacement?