Direct Shropshire rail link to London is one step closer
The Office of Rail Regulation has received a formal track access application from Network Rail in relation to Virgin Rail’s proposals for direct services between London and Shrewsbury.
Unlike Virgin’s previous proposals, the current application is to extend current services to and from Shrewsbury rather than introducing additional trains into London Euston. This means capacity and performance factors are less likely to be an issue this time.
South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne has welcomed the news, Mr Dunne said: “A formal application from Network Rail to the ORR represents another step towards securing a direct rail link between London and Shrewsbury, which could offer significant economic benefits across Shropshire.
"The West Coast Main Line is the busiest combined passenger and freight railway line in Europe, so resolving capacity and performance difficulties have been a problem in the past. But by extending existing services to reach Shrewsbury these problems can be overcome, so I remain hopeful that without further problems we should see this service introduced before the end of the year.
"I am also pressing for a timetable for these services to allow connections with Arriva Train Wales trains at Shrewsbury to and from stations at Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow in South Shropshire.”
