Blog: So the “Shropshire Thunderbolt”, Wrexham & Shropshire Trains’ direct service to London, has closed less than three years after it was reinstated, amidst much local regret, writes Emma Suddaby.

The direct link from North Wales to London Marylebone returned in April 2008, after an absence of many years, and was hailed a huge success with passengers appreciating the old-fashioned service, friendly staff, decent food and all-round atmosphere.

Prices were reasonable, services frequent, passengers a remarkable 99 per cent satisfied, according to an independent survey.

So where did it all go wrong?

Wrexham & Shropshire chairman, Adrian Shooter, admitted the firm lost £2.8 million in 2010 and that after doing “everything possible to reduce the losses&we have reached the conclusion that the business has no prospect of providing a return on investment”.

I went to London last year, travelling there with Virgin Trains and back on Wrexham & Shropshire’s direct link, and while I see why others loved it, I’ll explain why I didn’t.

I pre-warned both I’d need wheelchair access, but even so, Virgin staff left me shivering on the platform for 10 minutes while they went to find a ramp. Once onboard, though, I had an adapted carriage with great access and room to park up several wheelchairs, comfortably.

So, coming back, I arrived at the station early, expecting a bit of argy-bargy ramp-wise but looking forward to a relaxing journey home. Oh, the irony!

Because not only did accessing the Wrexham & Shropshire train cause perplexity amongst train staff, with another freezing wait on the platform while the infamous ramp was retrieved from the far-flung cupboard it had been stored in, once onboard it then transpired my wheelchair wouldn’t fit through the inner carriage doors. The train was practically vintage, built way before the needs of wheelchair users were considered, and my average chair just would not fit.

Staff scratched their heads in confusion. I really wanted, having gathered a bit of an audience, to exit stage left and find another way home but this was the very last train so I parked up in the draughty carriage corridor, one wheel either side of the jiggling band joining the two cars together, wedged against an overfilled bin with just enough room for luckier passengers to squeeze past to the buffet car.

The journey home took four hours. Four hours shivering in a cold, lonely corridor. In the end I had passing strangers bringing me coffee, spare coats, even an iPod to pass the time.

So I’m sorry to see the end of Wrexham & Shropshire’s link to London, but not really surprised. After all, it is important to provide an old-fashioned service . . . but just as important to remember that today’s commuters are often anything but.