MPs demanding better Shropshire rail links
The new rail franchise that will cover Shropshire and the Welsh border must extend the direct London service north of Shrewsbury, MPs demanded today.
There should also be regular rail links from the county to both Manchester and Birmingham airports, they said.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has joined forces with colleagues from neighbouring Welsh constituencies to call for a better service for the region when the future operator of the InterCity West Coast Franchise is chosen.
The Government has begun the process to select a rail company to operate and develop the services and stations from April 2018.
Tory Mr Paterson and Labour's Susan Elan Jones for Clwyd South and Ian Lucas for Wrexham are pressing for the new franchise to be improved.
Former minister Mr Paterson said: "The rail franchise must extend the London service, that currently terminates in Shrewsbury, to Gobowen, Wrexham and Chester.
"We are also calling for a Wales and Border and Shrewsbury service to Manchester and Birmingham airports every 30 minutes.
"Improving the rail links to the region can only help the local economy."
The regional MPs are also calling for better road links.
Recently they met with Welsh Assembly transport minister Ken Skates, who is backing their bid for a better transport infrastructure. Mr Skates agreed to look at how the Wales and Border rail network can be improved and also to press the Welsh Assembly for funding to improve the A5 and A483 trunk roads.
The demands from MPs come as maintenance work on the rails closed much of the network yesterday.
The work included extensive rail replacement at Shrewsbury Station and on sections of the line between the Midlands and London.
