Letter: Shropshire's public transport is going nowhere

Letter: I am writing to comment on the terrible public transport situation in Shropshire.

The rail services in our county are, in my opinion, in a state of total chaos.

1) There are no Sunday rail services at all throughout Shropshire due to the current Arriva Trains Wales strike.

2) London Midland trains are regularly cancelled due to an overtime ban by some staff and are totally unreliable.

3) With the closure of the Wrexham & Shropshire Railway there are no direct trains to London and it is at least £169 for a return ticket to arrive in London by 9am by the poor alternative services.

4) London Midland is proposing to reduce the opening hours of our local ticket offices (which has an impact on security, toilet facilities, waiting rooms and the provision of information).

With regard to our bus services, they are being significantly reduced due to the council cutbacks in subsidies and Arriva reducing other services.

With petrol at £1.30 a litre there is no viable alternative means of transport.

As a country we compare very badly with Germany and France in terms of public transport!

What message does this give to prospective tourists or businesses considering Shropshire as a venue?

What are our MPs and councils doing about this?

Alan Morris

High Ercall