Wrekin MP welcomes Ministerial support for latest WSMR rail service bid
Wrekin MP, Mark Pritchard, has welcomed the first public statement of support from the Secretary of State for Transport in the House of Commons for the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR) bid to run direct rail services between Shropshire and London.
After having its first bid to run the new direct services rejected last year, WSMR submitted a new bid at the beginning of December last year, which this time includes regular stops at Wellington following Mr Pritchard’s campaign for that station to be included in the WSMR timetable.
Yesterday, 12 February, in Parliament, Mr Pritchard expressed concern about a potential conflict of interest between Great British Railways and the Office of Rail and Road in deciding the new WSMR bid, which he has called on the government to support.
When Mr Pritchard previously raised this matter with the Secretary of State for Transport in the House of Commons on 9th December 2025, the Secretary of State responded that “those decisions are for the Office of Rail and Road to take”.
Yesterday, in response to Mr Pritchard’s question, the Secretary of State said for the first time that she “will maintain my support for those proposals going forward”.
Commenting, Mark Pritchard MP said: “This is a major and public statement of support from the Minister after my many years of campaigning. Great British Railways should support the Office of Rail and Road in granting the WSMR bid for a new open access agreement, which would boost Shropshire's economy by millions of pounds a year.”
