Leader: Direct link to London is needed now

It is outrageous in the 21st century that Shropshire is still treated as an outback where the pace of life is slow but perfectly adequate for the country bumpkins who, in the imagination of the metropolitan-based decision-makers and opinion-formers, inhabit this verdant part of Britain.

In reality Salopians are crying out for the return of a direct rail link to the capital city. Can it really be so difficult to provide such a basic standard of service?

Hopes have been raised and dashed in the past. The much-praised Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway failed because it laboured under inherent disadvantages.

• Why Shropshire needs a direct rail link to London

Now, with all five of the county's MPs acting in concert to apply pressure, there is renewed hope.

With the Government due to announce the winner of a new West Coast franchise, there is the chance to induce the winner of the contract to reinstate a direct Shropshire to London service.

Such a move would, in the words of Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow, be a massive boost for Shropshire's economy, and we agree with him.

Salopians pay their taxes like everyone else, and a darn sight more in a lot of cases due to the additional fuel costs which are part and parcel of living in a rural area.

Where is the transport payback? Why should Shropshire be blighted by the institutional disadvantage of being seen by officialdom as a backwoods – and backwards – area of the country?

Meanwhile millions are being funnelled into a high speed train service to and from London which will carve its way across the central and eastern parts of England in a route which pointedly points north. Bypassed Shropshire will see minimal benefit.

In comparison a direct link between Shropshire and the capital will cost peanuts and put this county's businesses on the right track as they claw their way out of the recession.