Shropshire Star comment: All eyes to home in on train firm

A recent reorganisation of train timetables has been chaotically introduced, causing misery to huge numbers of commuters and travellers. And while residents in Shropshire have not been immune to the ongoing travails of rail companies, there has also been good news.

We’re being promised jam tomorrow by the new operators of the Wales and Borders franchise, which plans to invest colossal sums into improving services. However, people will have to wait up to four years for those changes to take effect.

The £800 million investment will generate 600 extra jobs and new operator KeolisAmey should be congratulated for making such a strong commitment. Capacity will also be considerably increased with a two-thirds increase to meet higher demand and prevent commuters from having to stand, rather than sit.

It is a breathtaking start to business by the company’s leaders and many will be sure to monitor progress as they are held to account on those promises.

However, others will take the good news with a pinch of salt. In other parts of the country, there have been positive noises made by a variety of different companies and yet the sad news of railway delays has been writ large. It is little wonder that some talk about the re-nationalisation of railways as a means of ensuring customers are giving better quality services. Whether such a move would yield the results some crave is a moot point, but the fact that the subject is even on the agenda reflects the issues facing operators.

Here in Shropshire, we are fortunate to be looking at improvements rather than a deterioration or the continuation of an undesirable status quo.

And yet the problems being experienced by new timetables elsewhere in the country – and the rescinding of the East Coast franchise – show the potential pitfalls down the line. We trust that Wales and Borders will be driven by the need to be efficient and profit-making but also providing the services that the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales deserve.

This newspaper has been at the forefront of campaigns to provide local residents and incoming visitors with the services that are necessary. Improved links to London were in no small part a result of a Shropshire Star campaign. We wish the new operator luck and we will all be watching.