14.11.13
Direct Shrewsbury-London services confirmed
Direct services from Shrewsbury to London will be restored from May, the ORR has said, despite earlier rejections of Virgin’s applications.
Shrewsbury lost its direct services to the capital when the Wrexham & Shropshire open access service folded in early 2011. It has been years since Shrewsbury passengers had a direct, fast link to London via the WCML, as Virgin is now planning.
A twice-daily off-peak service Monday to Friday is not as radical a change as some local campaigners hoped, however.
Virgin Trains submitted a third bid to run the service last week, following rejections by the ORR on the grounds that the line is already too busy. The exact times of the new services will be revealed tomorrow and will also include a single direct service on Sundays.
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski told the Shropshire Star: “All of our hard work has paid off. This has been my number one priority over last 12 months as it is vital for Shrewsbury’s prosperity and my plans to help Shrewsbury business to export.”
A spokesperson for Virgin Trains said: “Virgin Trains is still in discussions with Network Rail and the Department for Transport about running services to Shrewsbury and no formal timetable offer has yet been made.
“We have made clear our intentions to run direct services to Shrewsbury and look forward to a positive outcome soon.”
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Image c. Christopher, reproduced under a Creative Commons licence.