Shropshire Star

Virgin Trains measure up Shrewsbury railway station

Virgin Trains engineers travelled to Shrewsbury to ensure the railway station and its approaches are suitable for when a direct rail link between the town and London becomes a reality.

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Wearing hard hats and florescent tabards, the team inspected the platforms and measured the distances between the platform and the track.

Virgin Trains spokesman Glynn McDonald: "Members from Virgin Trains were in Shrewsbury yesterday because we were measuring where exactly our trains would stop at the platform."

Virgin Trains workers take the measure of Shrewsbury station. Photo @SteveMLewis

Last month, while on a visit to Shrewsbury, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport Stephen Hammond said he was 'very hopeful' the final hurdle will be cleared to pave the way for the return of a direct rail service between Shropshire and the capital. It follows a campaign by the Shropshire Star that included a petition signed by thousands of travellers.

Shrewsbury would have two services in each direction Monday to Saturday and one service in each direction on Sunday. All services will also run through Telford Central.

Monday to Saturday services will leave Shrewsbury at 6.39am and 3.24pm with return services leaving London Euston at 10.23am and 6.23pm. On Sunday, a single service will leave Shrewsbury at 3.20pm and return from London at 7pm. The service is expected to launch in December.

Virgin Trains previously lost out to FirstGroup in the battle for a new 13-year West Coast franchise, but the process was scrapped by the Department for Transport due to errors in the bidding process. It resulted in a temporary deal allowing Virgin to run the West Coast service. Virgin is paying £430 million to the Government over the course of the contract, which at £155.3 million a year is a 58 per cent increase on the £98.1 million a year paid in the current short-term management contract.

News of the proposed train link has been warmly greeted by MPs from across the region. Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham said he could not 'over-emphasise the importance of Shrewsbury being connected to London. Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard, Montgommeryshire MP Mark Davies and Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow all said it would bee a 'massive' boost to business the region and lead to enhanced economic benefits.

Steve Lewis @SteveMLewis
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