Rail campaigners call for Shropshire line to be electrified

Green Party campaigners across the county have responded to a call by the government and West Midlands Rail for what rail users would like to see in the future with a wish list that includes electrification of the Marches line between Crewe and South Wales that stops at Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ludlow and Leominster.

The consultation was launched before Christmas ahead of a planned new West Midlands rail franchise in 2017.

Green Party members in south Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and North Herefordshire have now jointly issued a wish list, which includes a call to scrap the £50 billion HS2 high speed rail link between London and the West Midlands and instead reallocate the money to "projects both nationally and in the West Midlands that really do improve the daily travel experiences of millions of ordinary people."

One such project, the statement says, could be electrification of the Marches line, with guaranteed hourly trains at the main stations and Swiss-style "cheek to cheek" bus services meeting each train.

The list also says: "We should buy new rolling stock for the Marches line and eliminate overcrowding and increase bike carrying capacity.

"We want an urban rail system for the Birmingham city region as good as Berlin or Vienna with total integration of high quality tram, bus and urban rail.

"We want to see all rail services in the UK brought under full, public, democratic control so that residents and passengers can have a voice in how the services are run and how failings can be corrected.

"We want to see an end to rip-off fare increases."

David Gibbon, speaking for South Shropshire Green Party, said: "The UK is the fifth richest country in the world and there is no excuse for putting up with rail and bus services that are so much worse than in other European countries.

"The franchise is a great opportunity to improve public transport in Shropshire and we will fight hard for a good deal for residents in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford who are clearly losing out at present.

"They deserve better."

Cath Edwards from the Telford and Wrekin Green Party added: "Telford and Wrekin enjoys a frequent and usually reliable train service what the area now needs is an integrated and affordable bus service to all areas of the borough not just around Telford.

"This problem is particularly acute for students attending the colleges in Wellington and desperately needs addressing."

In December the government announced it had awarded current West Midlands operator, London Midland, a new contract to continue running services on the network until October 2017, when the new franchise is due to start, with £13 million worth of improvements planned over the next two years.

The 14-week consultation for the next franchise closes on March 22 and is available on www.gov.uk