Shropshire’s direct rail link to London has hit the buffers following objections from train giant Virgin.

The company bidding to restore non-stop services to the capital has announced it is scrapping its current bid and will now submit fresh plans.

Virgin Trains is objecting to the Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR) Company’s scheme to run trains to the capital.

The West Coast Mainline operator has a contract which protects it from competition on the line from Wolverhampton to London. It is also worried about extra services clogging up the busy route.

It means the Office of Rail Regulation, which oversees all train companies, will reject the WSMR bid, forcing it to change plans.

It had been hoped the service would be running by the spring, but the dispute will delay the move until December at the earliest.

So now the Wrexham & Shropshire company must submit a fresh plan for consultation.

In a statement WSMR said a new round of consultation was now “inevitable” and that it had decided to submit a new application.

“As a result of the process, the company is now unlikely to be able to implement services until around December 2007,” it said.

John Nelson, a director of the company, said: “We are keen to provide rail services that serve the communities in Wrexham and Shropshire as soon as possible.

“Our revised proposals are even stronger than before and we intend to submit them to the ORR within a matter of days.”

Virgin spokesman David Ewart said: “We would like to see details of the resubmission so we can study it. Our principle objection is capacity on the line between Birmingham International and Coventry. Further trains running would affect our services.”

Shropshire rail campaigner Mansel Williams said: “The company is not walking away and in the fullness of time a through train service between north Wales, Shropshire and London is achievable. This company is our best practical and achievable means by which we can do it.”

By Tom Warren