28.01.11
‘We overestimated the market’ says Wrexham & Shropshire
More reaction has been flowing in to the shock closure of Wrexham & Shropshire railways, which ceases operations from Friday.
As reported on rtmjobs.com yesterday, the open access company’s shareholders and ultimate owners, Deutsche Bahn, decided it had “no prospect” of becoming profitable after sustaining years of multi-million pound losses – despite winning plaudits for its sky-high passenger satisfaction figures.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus said: “It’s a shame that Wrexham & Shropshire – clearly a passenger favourite – will no longer be part of the choice available to passengers. From the start, they have been rated highly by passengers and we trust that other train companies will look at their scores for innovative ideas on how to deliver high quality services.”
The rail firm, which restored direct trains from Wrexham and Shrewsbury into London, had the highest rating in this week’s National Passenger Survey at 96%, and once managed to achieve 99%.
Chairman of Chiltern Railways, which owns Wrexham & Shropshire, Adrian Shooter, told the Financial Times: “We have had a lot of co-operation from local businesses and local authorities but the fact is we have not managed to attract enough people. We overestimated the size of the market and the propensity of people to travel to London.”
In a message to customers on its website, Wrexham & Shropshire said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyal and continued support. Without your assistance, our award winning service would not have been possible. We are very sorry that we have not been able to sustain it.”
The two other open access operators, Grand Central of York and Hull Trains, which neither receive subsidy from the Government nor pay to run services on their routes, are to push ahead with the model. But there are fears the demise of Wrexham & Shropshire could put off other innovators elsewhere in the country.
To read an interview with Wrexham & Shropshire’s managing director, Andy Hamilton, in Rail Technology Magazine, subscribe at www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Subscribe.aspx
Or read the digital edition at http://content.yudu.com/A1qnix/RTMDecJan11/
(Image shows Wrexham & Shropshire’s website this morning)
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