Virgin not ruling out London rail link revival
Friday 4th February 2011, 12:47PM GMT.
Rail giant Virgin today refused to rule out restoring Shropshire’s only direct rail link to London.
And they have called on the people of Shropshire to lobby the Department for Transport to make sure a county rail link is included in future tendering discussions for the West Coast franchise, due to be renewed in April 2012.
Virgin today said the Wrexham & Shropshire service – which closed on January 28 with the loss of 55 jobs – had set a benchmark for other operators with its high customer service standards but claimed its business model was “flawed”.
Jim Rowe, spokesman for Virgin, said the firm was currently drawing up plans ready to bid for the West Coast franchise it currently operates, which is up for grabs next year.
Asked whether Shrewsbury or Telford could be included in an enhanced service, he said: “Never say never.
“Clearly we are in a bidding situation, or will be, when the West Coast line comes up again,” he said.
“We will be putting in a very strong bid but we wouldn’t be discussing the context of that bid now, because that would leave us exposed to competitors.
“If you look at the DfT consultation document, there is currently no mention in there around Shrewsbury and if any bidder does include it, it would probably be over and above what the DfT are asking us to bid for.
“Now, with the DfT drawing up the specifications for the West Coast franchise, the Shropshire community needs to go to the DfT with their requirements.
“Stakeholders and local authorities need to put together population figures and business figures to show what is happening in the area,” Mr Rowe said.
The deadline for consultation for the DfT is April 21 this year.
Virgin dropped plans to introduce a rival to the Wrexham & Shropshire service in 2009. Virgin wanted to bring in a twice daily service between Shrewsbury, Wellington and Euston, but it was opposed by Wrexham & Shropshire.
More than 6,300 people have already signed a petition calling for a direct link between Shropshire and the capital to be reinstated.
By Russell Roberts
UK News
Most Commented
- Clampdown on Shrewsbury chuggers
- Bishop's gay marriage views do nothing to support bible teachings
- Letter: Alcohol price plans annoy me
- Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
- Letter: Angered by close encounter of the furred kind
- Letter: No sense in overseas job adverts
- The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff doesn't raise a smile
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
It’s easy for Virgin to claim that a competitor’s business case was ‘flawed’ when Virgin – unlike the erstwhile competitor – is trousering millions and millions of pounds from the UK taxpayer *every year* for providing their own services – which actually aren’t as good as they keep claiming they are.
Report abuse
Flawed??? Oh yeah they didn’t factor in or have access to massive public subsidies and of course had no say when confronted with the Regulator approved ‘Closed Shop’ on routes and stations that benefited the W&S main competition. In my opinion MP’s, AM’s and the public should consider this episode of protectionism very carefully when the consultation period opens for the West Coast franchise before it is up for grabs in April 2012. It must not be a forgone conclusion that the sitting tenant will remain the sole operator over such a massive slice of the network route and sole recipient of a massive public subsidy. Did we swap a Public Monopoly answerable to elected representatives for a Private Monopoly answerable to no one?
Report abuse
If Virgin Had not objected to Wrexham and Shropshire Picking up at Wolverhampton and Birmingham The service would most likley still be running
Report abuse
Any flaw was having Virgin Trains in the equation and their monopoly rights at Wolverhampton. When are Virgin Trains going to run West Coast Mainline without any subsidy? This should be an essential part of the new franchise as a real challenge to test the train operator’s abilities.
Report abuse
even a service starting and finishing at shrewsbury with good connections to and from chester/wrexham would be better than nothing
Report abuse