May launch for Shropshire's direct rail link to London is scrapped
Virgin Trains this afternoon scrapped plans to launch a direct link from Shropshire to London in May.
The company had planned to set up the service in May, but says following talks with Network Rail it is no longer viable. It said it was still working to launch a service in December.
Network Rail has previously offered two weekday off-peak daytime slots and two slots on Sundays which would have allowed for a return service between Shrewsbury and London Euston starting from the May 2014 timetable change.
However, Virgin said the proposed timings were "unattractive from a customer point of view", with the result that the services would not have been economically viable.
A Virgin Trains statement said: "Virgin Trains will therefore not be running them from this May as originally planned.
"Network Rail and Virgin Trains will continue working hard with industry partners and other stakeholders to create a service from December 2014 that will be of real benefit to the people of Shropshire and for those wishing to visit the area from other towns and cities."
See Thursday's Shropshire Star for more on this story and full reactions
