Shrewsbury to Wrexham upgrade complete, says Network Rail
Network Rail today revealed it has completed a flagship £10 million upgrade to its Shrewsbury to Wrexham line as part of a record investment in the railway network.
But the railway operator, which is under pressure to improve efficiency to free up capacity for a peak time direct rail route between Shropshire and London, added it was missing its performance targets because the railways are "full".
While a record investment of £2.74 billion has been ploughed into the network in the first half of the year, Network Rail insisted developments such as HS2 would be necessary to free up additional capacity on Britain's railways.
The new Shrewsbury to London route is set to launch in May after a campaign by the Shropshire Star. But it is to be an off-peak service initially because of issues with peak capacity.
Network Rail has insisted additional capacity would be required to accommodate the extra service.
Group finance director Patrick Butcher warned: "With a million more trains and half a billion more passengers than 10 years ago our railways are all but full."
