Wilmslow -> Shrewsbury -> Chester -> Wilmslow

[Mcr Warrior]

Suggestions please for walk-up (day) ticket(s) for the above itinerary, travelling in a 'clockwise' direction after the morning peak.

And on the return leg, from Chester, could one then travel via Northwich/Stockport or just via Crewe?

Would either an Off Peak (SVR) return, Wilmslow to Ruabon (at £23.90), or Wilmslow to Chirk (at £27.50) be valid?

 

[30907]

Suggestions please for walk-up (day) ticket(s) for the above itinerary, travelling in a 'clockwise' direction after the morning peak.

And on the return leg, from Chester, could one then travel via Northwich/Stockport or just via Crewe?

Would either an Off Peak (SVR) return, Wilmslow to Ruabon (at £23.90), or Wilmslow to Chirk (at £27.50) be valid?

NRE likes Ruabon both ways via Crewe, but not via SPT.

 

[mangyiscute]

Wilmslow to Ruabon is valid on this route, and you can even do the journey for £20.40 by splitting the journey at Goostrey but you'd have to be on a stopper for the Wilmslow to Crewe section both ways - it is also valid via Wolverhampton then Shrewsbury if wanted.
For going back via Northwich and Stockport, the £23.90 ticket is not valid but you can buy a £23.90 Handforth to Ruabon, board at Wilmslow for the way day, travel via Shrewsbury on the way there and then on the way back it is valid for travel via Northwich to Stockport, and then you'd have to buy an additional Handforth to Wilmslow ticket for £3.70 (or a Stockport to Wilmslow ticket if you get a train that doesn't stop at Handforth for £4.90)
So overall you may as well buy the Handforth to Ruabon ticket and then if you end up returning via Stockport you can pay for the extra single if needed, but you can use the Handforth to Ruabon exactly the same as the Wilmslow to Ruabon ticket.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Wilmslow to Ruabon is valid on this route, and you can even do the journey for £20.40 by splitting the journey at Goostrey but you'd have to be on a stopper for the Wilmslow to Crewe section both ways

Good shout, although not all the Northern stoppers actually call at Goostrey, as you seem to be hinting at.

 

[mangyiscute]

Good shout, although not all the Northern stoppers actually call at Goostrey, as you seem to be hinting at.

Oh tbh I just assumed that they did, my mistake

 

[jfollows]

Oh tbh I just assumed that they did, my mistake

One an hour, the Crewe-Stockport-Manchester service. The Crewe-Airport-Liverpool service skips Goostrey and Chelford.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Looks like it's rail replacement buses operating between Crewe and Shrewsbury this week. With the suggested Wilmslow to Ruabon Off Peak Return (SVR) ticket, could one travel via Wolverhampton as an alternative to via Chester, in order to avoid the "direct" (via Nantwich) RRB?

 

[Watershed]

Looks like it's rail replacement buses operating between Crewe and Shrewsbury this week. With the suggested Wilmslow to Ruabon Off Peak Return (SVR) ticket, could one travel via Wolverhampton as an alternative to via Chester, in order to avoid the "direct" (via Nantwich) RRB?

Yes, that's permitted - it's a mapped route for Wilmslow to Shrewsbury.

I must say I'm rather surprised at Crewe to Shrewsbury being shut during the week, given that it's not even half term or the school holidays (where weekday closures are more common).

Unfortunately, with TfW diverting services from S Wales to Manchester via Chester, they are curtailed at Crewe - presumably they don't have enough units or traincrew to still run up to Manchester in view of the resultant longer journey time. That leaves (Manchester)-Wilmslow-Crewe with a decidedly thin service of just the 2 Northern stoppers (reducing to 1tph in the evening).

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Unfortunately, yes.

National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables

m.nationalrail.co.uk

Extract...

Train operator affected

Transport for Wales

Shrewsbury - Crewe:

Throughout the week, buses will replace trains between Shrewsbury and Crewe.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I must say I'm rather surprised at Crewe to Shrewsbury being shut during the week, given that it's not even half term or the school holidays (where weekday closures are more common).

Allegedly it's for clearance work for Mk4 stock between Crewe and Shrewsbury.
TfW need it done so they can start them on the Manchester-Cardiff service.

 

[Watershed]

Allegedly it's for clearance work for Mk4 stock between Crewe and Shrewsbury.
TfW need it done so they can start them on the Manchester-Cardiff service.

That's great, but TfW could do with explaining that if so. There were a lot of bewildered commuters today!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

That leaves (Manchester)-Wilmslow-Crewe with a decidedly thin service of just the 2 Northern stoppers (reducing to 1tph in the evening).

Augmented by half a dozen or so Avanti West Coast trains at random times during the day and the one token XC service. Not ideal, of course.

 

[Starmill]

That's great, but TfW could do with explaining that if so. There were a lot of bewildered commuters today!

Yet another example of where one of the three main operators between Manchester and Crewe withdraws services and just assumes that the other two will sort out the problem for them, apparently without actually checking what they are doing. Hopefully passengers from Shrewsbury and beyond were specifically directed to change trains at Chester (providing the connection from there was actually running obviously!).