Letter: Rail link is not restored
You could be forgiven for thinking the campaign to restore a direct rail service to London from Shropshire had been successful reading quotes from council leader Keith Barrow and MPs Philip Dunne and Owen Paterson but nothing could be further from the truth.
You could be forgiven for thinking the campaign to restore a direct rail service to London from Shropshire had been successful reading quotes from council leader Keith Barrow and MPs Philip Dunne and Owen Paterson but nothing could be further from the truth.
The only way to guarantee direct trains would have been to have the obligation enshrined in the new West Coast franchise agreement and they have failed to get that, and may not have the chance to secure a service again for another 15 years.
Franchise holder FirstGroup will seek to run trains to Telford and Shrewsbury from 2016 but both Virgin Trains and Arriva sought to run such a service before dropping any plans completely.
It is also worth remembering that the new franchise holders have handed back their Great Western operation after a mere five years to avoid payment obligations to the public purse.
Chris Lemon
Shrewsbury
