Shropshire stations miss out in morning train timetable
Shropshire stations are missing out in timetable changes because of a new express train service, rail users have said.
Transport for Wales revised its Cardiff to Holyhead timetable, which runs the length of Shropshire, in December, bringing in a morning express train only stopping in Shrewsbury.
This replaced the previous stopping train that left Shrewsbury at 9.25am.
After pressure to alter the service, Transport for Wales announced last week that the train would now stop at Gobowen, Chirk and Ruabon.
However in south Shropshire, although it will now stop at Ludlow, it won’t call at either Church Stretton or Craven Arms.
The afternoon express service is being changed to include the smaller stations.
The Stretton Rail Users Association said that the decision over the morning train was extremely disappointing.
Dr Ian Dormer, secretary of the association, said it and the Marches Rail Alliance were continuing to press for improvements.
He said Craven Arms and Church Stretton had lost the service for the train that arrived at Shrewsbury for 9.25am because of the morning express service.
“I was contacted by one passenger who used to rely on the service to get into work in Shrewsbury,” Dr Dormer said. “She now has to drive to work.”
He said that the reduction in service went against the nationwide move to improve public transport. It is nonsense to take away opportunities to use the train,” he said. “Church Stretton’s timetable is such that we find that the trains we do have do not connect easily with the wider network.”
A transport for Wales spokesperson said: “A timetable consultation was held in November 2019, where we worked closely with rail users to understand the impact of the December timetable changes and to discuss future May 2020 changes.”
