Plea for Shropshire fast train link to London

A new direct train link between Shropshire and London will need to be much quicker than past services, one of the county's top businessmen has said.

Bill Brookes, chairman and chief executive of estate agents DB Roberts and Partners, said reintroducing a link between Shropshire and the capital will make little difference to the county's property market unless it is as direct as possible.

A campaign has been started to restore the link after the Wrexham & Shropshire service was scrapped in January last year with the loss of 55 jobs.

Mr Brookes said he hoped any replacement service would allow people in Shropshire to reach London as quickly as possible. Journeys on the former Wrexham & Shropshire service lasted nearly two hours.

"It would only do anything for the property market if it were a much more direct and faster service than the last one was," said Mr Brookes.

"In Stafford, you are there in an hour and a quarter if you catch the right train. I wish the campaign well. Business people will travel if they can get there and back in a day."

His comments come after Virgin Trains, which is one of four companies bidding for the West Coast Main Line franchise, confirmed that bringing back a direct link was under consideration.

Mr Brookes said the company would have to consider whether introducing the service to the county would hit its passenger numbers from nearby stations such as Wolverhampton and Staff-ord, which already have direct rail links to the capital.

Virgin Trains will be lodging its bid for the West Coast Main Line franchise on May 1, with First Group, Abellio and Keolis also competing to run the service.

Business chiefs and council leaders in Shropshire have been pressing for a return of the rail link to Shrewsbury and Telford and met train bosses earlier this year to put their case forward.

Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, said it was 'vitally important' the service was restored, as it would provide 'a real shot in the arm' for the county's economy.