Call for train time switch over new Shropshire rail link to London

Councillors in Ludlow have written to Arriva Trains Wales calling on the company to alter its timetable to enable early morning trains to reach Shrewsbury in time for passengers to catch the 6.39am Virgin Trains service to the capital.

Trains from the south of the county would arrive four minutes too late, while a service from Whitchurch and Wem would be three minutes too late under the current timetable.

A spokeswoman for Arriva said the company would consider its options before the new London service comes into operation in December.

Under the present arrangements, the Arriva service from Cardiff to Manchester - which stops at Leominster, Ludlow, Craven Arms and Church Stretton - does not arrive in Shrewsbury until 6.43am. The train travelling in the opposite direction, which stops at Whitchurch and Wem, gets into Shrewsbury at 6.42am.

Trains from Gobowen and Wrexham would arrive 13 minutes before the London train leaves the platform at Shrewsbury.

Shropshire councillors Andy Boddington, Vivienne Parry, Richard Huffer and Tracey Huffer, who represent people in the Ludlow and Clee Hill areas, have written to Ian Bullock, managing director of Arriva Wales, to ask that the first train stopping in Ludlow is brought forward to connect with the new service.

Councillor Boddington said: "It is great news that Shrewsbury will have a direct service to London again. Now we need to link this up with Ludlow, as well as Craven Arms and Church Stretton. That means we need the first train from Ludlow, which comes up from Cardiff, to run around ten minutes earlier.

"The last direct service from Shrewsbury to London suffered from lack of passenger numbers. It wasn't possible to catch the early morning service from Ludlow without driving to Shrewsbury. I am sure the new service will get a lot more passengers if it has connecting services from the south."

He said there were also concerns over the price of tickets.

"At the moment it can cost more than £200 to go from Ludlow to London for an early morning meeting," he said, "If the new service is to succeed, we need affordable prices."

Claire Lillie, spokeswoman for Arriva Trains Wales, said: "We will look at the options available to link our early morning service up with the new London service from Shrewsbury."

Virgin Trains was due to introduce a direct service to London Euston from May this year, but in January said the proposals were not "economically viable".

But last week the company signed a franchise for the UK's west coast network, which includes revived plans for the direct service, to run until March 2017.

The new service is expected to launch in December. The first train would leave Shrewsbury at 6.39am and the last would leave Euston at 6.23pm.