Passengers asked for views to keep Shropshire to London rail link on track

About 80,000 passengers have made use of the new link since its launch just over a year ago, leading to a 19 per cent increase in passenger numbers.

But not Gay Walker, from Church Stretton. "We would like to use the direct service, but we can't," she says.

"The first train from Church Stretton gets to Shrewsbury five minutes after the London train, so we've never been able to use it."

In the great scheme of things, it is perhaps a minor niggle. But for thousands of Shropshire passengers, it is small problems like this which make all the difference to people's perceptions of the county's rail service.

It is such anomalies which have been identified as priorities when deciding which operators will get the new rail franchises, which are up for grabs over the next couple of years.

At the moment, local services – as opposed to the West Coast Main Line franchise which is run by Virgin Trains – are operated by London Midland and Arriva Wales.

London Midland's present franchise comes to an end in October next year, while Arriva's contract ends in 2018. Now passengers are being asked for their views on what they want to see from rail services.

"It's our goal having trains running from Shrewsbury to Birmingham every 20 minutes," says Shropshire Council's Matt Johnson.

"Historically there were three trains an hour on that route, two from London Midland and one from Arriva.

"We lost one of the London Midland trains, and we want to make it a condition that whoever wins the new franchise will put the extra train on."

Mr Johnson is hoping a shake-up of the railways, which has seen the creation of a devolved railway board for the West Midlands, will give the council the clout to bring about such changes under the new London Midland franchise.

West Midlands Rail is the new devolved body set up to ultimately allow for the local management of railways, rather than decisions being taken solely by central government, and Mr Johnson is confident that passengers will soon see a difference.

London Midland

The nostalgically named London Midland rail company has held the franchise to run services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham since 2007, when it took over the franchise which had previously been operated by Central Trains.

London Midland, which is jointly owned by the Newcastle-based Go-Ahead Group and French company Keolis, operates services, runs regular trains from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, calling at Shrewsbury, Albrighton, Telford, Wellington, Shifnal, Cosford, Albrighton and Codsall, then going on to Wolverhampton, Sandwell & Dudley before arriving at Birmingham New Street. The company also runs indirect services to London, changing at Birmingham.

The franchise was originally due to expire in September 2015, but this was extended – initially to March 2016, and then again to October 2017 after London Midland agreed to put on extra trains and improve services.

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales, which is owned by the German state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn, runs a number of services in Shropshire and mid Wales, having won a 15-year contract which is up for renewal in October 2018.

The company runs services from along the route from Fishguard to Llandudno, serving Leominster, Ludlow, Craven Arms, Church Stretton, Shrewsbury, Gobowen and Chirk. The Shrewsbury-Crewe route, taking in Yorton, Wem, Prees, and Whitchurch is also operated by Arriva, along with the route from Holyhead to Cardiff, with stations at Chirk, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Craven Arms, Church Stretton, Ludlow and Leominster.

Arriva also operates services from Shrewsbury, Telford and Wellington to Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street, as well as from Shrewsbury to Welshpool, Newtown and Aberystwyth, as well as from Shrewsbury to Knighton on the Welsh border.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains owns the franchise to run inter-city services along the West Coast main line in what has been one of the most politically charged franchise arrangements since the privatisation.

The company – which is jointly owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group and the Scottish operator Stagecoach – runs express services from Shrewsbury, Wellington and Telford Central to London.

The present franchise runs until April 2018, having been extended temporarily following a protracted legal battle. Virgin Trains won the first franchise to run the line in 1997, following the privatisation of the rail network, with the original contract due to expire in March 2012.

However, the tendering process for the second contract was dogged by disputes and delays and was then awarded to First Group. But after technical flaws were discovered in the bidding process, that was cancelled and Virgin continued.

Shropshire councillor Simon Jones and Telford & Wrekin councillor Kuldip Sahota sit as directors of the new board alongside representatives of the other councils that make up the West Midlands.

While the final decision about the award of the new franchise for the services currently run by London Midland will ultimately be made by government ministers, Mr Johnson says West Midlands Rail will have vital input into the terms and conditions of the new contract.

He wants passengers to take advantage of the public consultation period to make their views known on what the priorities for the new franchise should be, although he says many areas for improvement have already been identified.

Like Mrs Walker, he says connectivity between different services is a major priority.

"It would obviously be nice to have more direct services to Birmingham International, but a lot of it is simply down to the timings. The trains need to be better timed so people can make connections."

He wants the new franchise agreement to lay down tighter criteria to tackle problems such as overcrowding and cleanliness, as well as the provision of facilities such as toilets and buffet cars.

And to complicate matters further, West Midlands Rail will only have an input into the services currently provided by London Midland. Arriva's franchise for the Marches line falls outside the new body's remit.

Councillor Kuldip Sahota, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, cautions against people expecting too much too soon. "It will make a difference, but it will take time," he says. "West Midlands Rail will be able to advise the government, but it is still the Department for Transport which will make the decisions."

Passenger Bill Jones, from Admaston, near Telford, is hoping that giving more influence to local government will lead to better services.

"There is significant overcrowding on the Shropshire to Birmingham route, showing the need for an extra train per hour, and for additional rolling stock," he says.

"There is also a need for more staff at Wellington station and for ticket offices to be open longer."

Rail minister Claire Perry is urging people to take part in the consultation, which will ask passengers how services can be improved, including any barriers to using the railway. Suggestions for how to create space for more passengers to tackle overcrowding, how services can be changed to meet customer demand, and how to improve ticket sales, customer satisfaction and security are also being invited.

Mrs Perry, who was born in Bromsgrove, says: "It is vital that the region has the right network of rail services that will allow the economy to thrive.

"Local people are best placed to tell us how this can be made a reality. It is really important that passengers, businesses and other local groups tell us what they think."