Meeting discusses boost to rail services and Shrewsbury station revamp
A Shropshire MP’s plan to revamp Shrewsbury’s railway services alongside breathing new life into the town’s Victorian station received another boost this week.
Another meeting of top railway bosses was hosted by Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley in the county town on Monday.
On the agenda was improved rail services and infrastructure for Shrewsbury, as well as better coordination of bus and rail services, investment in the station quarter, an art project for the station underpass, and opportunities for timetable alignment and joint ticketing between operators to maximise the options for travellers.
Mrs Buckley said: “I invited key strategic leaders from Network Rail, Shropshire Council, ALSTOM/SLC (Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway), Transport for Wales and key rail expert academics to join a steering group to focus on how we can deliver improved services and infrastructure for Shrewsbury. We had a wide range of topics to explore, and I feel we’re making excellent progress.
“The visitors arrived by train – of course – from all over the country for what was their third visit to see what Shrewsbury has to offer.
“There was a great deal to discuss during what was another really positive, fruitful and uplifting meeting.
“The Government’s approval for the open access route of the new Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway is really exciting. Out of eight submitted routes from around the country, this was the only one approved last week by Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander and will add five direct services a day to London.”
The MP said the meeting also looked at making better use of the station building itself, “breathing new life into this beautiful building.” She said: “Are we missing an opportunity here? I think we are.”
“Meanwhile, we will be monitoring Shrewsbury’s rail service reliability and performance over the next few quarters, especially following the introduction of the new rolling stock at Shrewsbury for Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains this month.”
Among those at the meeting this week was Gethin Jones, Public Affairs Manager for Transport for Wales, who said: “We have started operating our new Class 197 trains on services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham International as part of a phased introduction, offering greater capacity, enhanced accessibility, and a vastly improved customer experience for passengers.
“The 197s provide greater capacity, modern and comfortable seats, improved accessibility features, accessible toilets, full audio and visual information screens, priority seating, Wi-Fi, charging sockets and bicycle spaces.
“As part of TfW’s £800million investment in a brand-new fleet of trains, we now operate brand-new Class 197 trains along the lines through Shropshire and the wider Wales and Borders network.”
Mrs Buckley added: “I’m thrilled that we are pushing ahead with a whole range of improvements for travellers.”
