A £36M INVESTMENT in the railway line between Chester and Wrexham is set to cut journey times and increase train services.

Parts of the new track will have speeds of up to 90mph (114km/h).

Seven miles (11km) of track, which has been a single line since the 1980s, is being re-doubled as part of the north-south Wales journey time project funded by the Welsh government.

The works are expected to be completed by early 2015.

Sheila Dee, rail officer for the Chester Shrewsbury Rail Partnership, said: “This line was singled in the early 1980s to make way for the A483 which, at the time, was seen as a cost effective option.

“This new scheme unlocks huge opportunities in terms of more services, more destinations and even new stations.

“The Scott Wilson Report of 2006 identified the possibility of these being at Johnstown and at Parkway outside Rossett – not in Rossett itself.

“Preparatory work has already started on the scheme but work in earnest will probably start midway through next year and be completed by early 2015. Line speed will increase from the current 60-75mph to 90mph.”

She added: “Giving the line greater capacity can only help create more jobs.”

Re-doubling the line has been one of Wrexham council’s strategic rail objectives and has been a priority of Taith, the regional transport consortia, for some time.

As part of the same scheme a further £9.8 million will be spent on increasing the line speed between Gobowen and Shrewsbury to 90mph.

In addition, Arriva Trains has just announced extra seats and extra services between Chester to Llandudno Junction in the mid-afternoon and evening commuter period.