Delight at direct rail link for Shrewsbury
This morning’s announcement that there will be a direct rail link between Shrewsbury and London by December 2013 has been very much welcomed by Daniel Kawczynski MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham.
Daniel Kawczynski said:
“I am absolutely delighted by this announcement. I am excited by the opportunities that this will bring to the town and the surrounding rural areas. It is good news for individuals that want to visit our capital city; for businesses; for tourism and I know the news will be welcomed by those that are required to commute down to London on a regular basis.
I have every confidence that the demand for this service will make it a great success for Virgin Trains which will in turn enable it to be retained by the service provider once the permanent contract has been awarded.
I assured my constituents, as part of my election promise in 2005, that I would endeavour to secure a direct rail link for Shrewsbury and I will continue to work with the Transport Secretary to ensure that the link is established by his timetable of December next year’.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, expressed his thanks Mr Kawczynski for all his campaigning efforts for the introduction of the service. He stated that there was still work to be done but very much hopes that the service will be in place by December 2013.
The news that Shropshire could have a direct rail link to London from the end of next year has also been welcomed by Shropshire Council.
Councillor Keith Barrow said: “This is fantastic news for Shropshire. A direct rail service to London is really important for a number of reasons – it will be a massive boost for tourism because it will make it easier for people to get here, and it will be a huge help for businesses who need good links to the capital.”
The direct rail link forms part of a new deal with Virgin Trains who will run the West Coast Mainline for a further 23 months. The temporary arrangement means Virgin will run trains until 9 November 2014, after which the West Coast line will be let under a long-term franchise following a revised competition process.
Tony Collins, CEO of Virgin Trains, said: “I’m delighted that we have an agreement with the Department for Transport that gives us the chance to continue providing high quality services to our customers. We have had great support from staff and customers in recent months and we will repay that loyalty with even better service.
“We will not be sitting back in the coming months, but are keen to introduce more improvements to the service, which is already the most popular long-distance service in the country. We are proud of what we have achieved since 1997, but there is undoubtedly more to come and we will work closely with the Department for Transport to bring even better services in future.”
