Shropshire's direct rail link to London may go further north
Shropshire's direct rail service to London could extend north to Gobowen and Wrexham by the end of the year, one of the county's MPs has said.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson made the claim following talks yesterday with Virgin Trains, Network Rail, Arriva, other MPs and civic heads at the Guildhall in Oswestry.
It is hoped the Virgin service that currently terminates at Shrewsbury will head further along the Chester line to give those who use Gobowen and Wrexham stations their direct service back.
The Wrexham & Shropshire service that ran between Wrexham and London and called at stations in Shropshire was axed four years ago.
Mr Paterson, who is spearheading the proposal and set up the meeting, said a working group had been set up which will be bidding in the coming weeks for this December's timetable. He said this will ensure that the route is running for more than a year ahead of the start of the new main franchise in April 2018.
Mr Paterson said overall yesterday's meeting had been a positive one.
"Virgin have been very positive, they're really keen on this and they've have been really excited by the fact 80,000 passengers have travelled from Shrewsbury to London in the service's first year," he said.
"Oswestry is the second biggest town in Shropshire, and we've got a couple of thousand people living in our nearby villages."
Mr Paterson said: "It's clear that they stop at Shrewsbury with the engines running and it will be a more efficient use of the equipment if they run north to Gobowen and Wrexham and possibly Chester."
Other MPs who attended the meeting included Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, and Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham. Mr Paterson insisted the plans have sparked "genuine interest" and "very strong political support".
He said Arriva had been "balanced" and "open-minded" while Network Rail had been "business like" in regards to the plans.
The service between Shrewsbury and London was set up following a Shropshire Star campaign. It was launched after 3,000 people signed a Shropshire Star petition which was presented to Parliament by Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski and mentioned in Prime Minister's Questions.
Mr Paterson said the next meeting of the working group will be on February 8 at 2pm at Shrewsbury railway station.
