Council leader and MPs push Shropshire’s case for a direct rail link to London

The case for a direct train service from Shropshire to London has been put to a major railway company by Shropshire Council’s leader and local MPs.

Keith Barrow, along with MPs Owen Paterson, Daniel Kawczynski and Philip Dunne, met with bosses at one of the companies bidding to run services on the West Coast Main Line, Abellio, to stress how important a direct service to the capital was for Shropshire.

They will also be looking to meet the other companies applying to be the new operator on the London to Scotland route, which is currently run by Virgin Trains.

Keith said:

“It’s vitally important that we have a direct train service to London, both for business people who need to get to the capital for meetings, but also for residents who want to visit London for a day out.  It would be a real shot in the arm for our economy if the new operator agreed to run a direct service between Shropshire and London.

“The meeting with representatives from Abellio was very encouraging, and we hope to hold similar conversations in the near future with the other companies looking to take on the West Coast Main Line.  Working together with our local MPs, we want to make it clear just how important we feel it is for Shropshire to have a direct link to London.”

An announcement is expected to be made on which company is awarded the 14-year contract to operate the West Coast Main Line – which runs from London to Glasgow serving Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and North Wales – later in 2012.