Editing Shropshire (section)

==Transport==
[[File:Montgomery Canal at Maesbury Marsh.jpg|thumb|right|[[Montgomery Canal]] at [[Maesbury Marsh]]]]
[[File:82109 - Shrewsbury (8959190070).jpg|thumb|The direct [[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]] from [[Shrewsbury railway station|Shrewsbury]] to [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] with a [[Driving Van Trailer|DVT]] and mailbags delivering the [[Royal Mail]] at a time when [[British Rail]] ran the network]]
{{See also|Rail transport in Shropshire}}

Shropshire is connected to the rest of the United Kingdom via a number of road and rail links. Historically, rivers and later canals in the county were used for transport also, although their use in transport is now significantly reduced. The county's main transport hub is Shrewsbury, through which many significant roads and railways pass and join.

[[Canals of the United Kingdom|Canals in Britain]] were originally constructed for the transport of goods, but are now mainly used for leisure. In northern Shropshire three canals with a total navigable length of {{convert|41|mi|km}} are managed by the [[Canal & River Trust]]: the [[Shropshire Union Canal]] (from north of [[Adderley]] to near [[Knighton, Stafford, Staffordshire|Knighton]]), the [[Llangollen Canal]] (from [[Chirk Aqueduct]] to [[Grindley Brook]]) and the [[Montgomery Canal]] (from its beginning at [[Frankton Junction]] to [[Llanymynech]]). In addition, the [[Shrewsbury Canal|Shrewsbury and Newport Canal]] potentially could be restored in the
future.<ref>[http://www.sncanal.org.uk Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust]. Sncanal.org.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2011.</ref>

[[File:M54, Westbound to Telford. - geograph.org.uk - 1247312.jpg|thumb|left|The [[M54 Motorway]] runs through the east of the county, as far as [[Wellington, Shropshire|Wellington]].]]

Major roads in the county include the [[M54 motorway]], which connects Shropshire to the rest of the motorway network, and more specifically to the [[West Midlands county]]. The [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5]] also runs through the county, in an east–west direction. The road formerly ran through Shrewsbury, although a large dual-carriageway bypass has since been built. Other major trunk roads in the county include the north–south [[A49 road|A49]], the [[A53 road|A53]] and the [[A41 road|A41]].

There are a number of major [[Railways of Shropshire|railway]] lines running through the county, including the [[Welsh Marches Line]], the [[Heart of Wales Line]], the [[Cambrian Line]], the [[Shrewsbury to Chester Line]] and the [[Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line]], as well as [[heritage railway]]s including the well established [[Severn Valley Railway]]. The [[Cambrian Heritage Railway]] exists in [[Oswestry]]. The three train operating companies working in the county are [[West Midlands Trains]], [[Transport for Wales Rail|Transport for Wales]] and [[Avanti West Coast]]. A new company, [[Wrexham & Shropshire]], commenced services from Shropshire to [[Marylebone railway station|London Marylebone]], in spring 2008 but the service was discontinued on 28 January 2011 leaving Shrewsbury without a direct link to the capital.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-12305519 |work=[[BBC News]]  | title=Last Wrexham-Shropshire-London train departs | date=28 January 2011}}</ref> Virgin Trains (the operator at the time) recommenced services from Shrewsbury to [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] on 11 December 2014, having withdrawn them in the late 1990s,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/09/22/rail-regulator-approves-direct-rail-services-from-shropshire-to-london/ | newspaper=[[Shropshire Star]] | title=Direct rail services from Shropshire to London will start on December 14 | date=22 September 2014 | access-date=1 May 2015 | archive-date=26 April 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426221718/http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/09/22/rail-regulator-approves-direct-rail-services-from-shropshire-to-london/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> however, their successor Avanti West Coast is set to withdraw service once again in June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 February 2024 |title=Direct Shropshire-London train service to end |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6pvvzw89ldo |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Two major water supply [[Pipeline transport|aqueduct]]s run across Shropshire; the [[Elan aqueduct]] running through South Shropshire carrying water from [[Elan Valley]] to [[Birmingham]] and the Vyrnwy Aqueduct running through North Shropshire delivering water from [[Lake Vyrnwy]] to [[Liverpool]].