Transport minister offers Shropshire hope for new direct London rail link

Mr McLoughlin told county representatives at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference that lobbying from within Shropshire on the future of the rail route was being heard in the corridors of power.

Virgin Trains has detailed the route between Shrewsbury and the capital and put forward its formal proposals to the Department for Transport in a major step forward for the scheme.

But when chamber managing director Richard Sheehan and president John Clayton met Mr McLoughlin, they took the opportunity to press the case for a larger service than the two-per-day offering currently on the table.

Mr Sheehan said: "He said he was very aware of the power of the lobbying from Shropshire and will be speaking to MPs shortly.

"It's appropriate for it to go through that channel first, but there as a real suggestion that something positive was going to happen this week.

"During the meeting John Clayton questioned the minister on progress regarding reinstating a full and complete service from Shropshire to London.

"The minister indicated that progress is being made on the official announcement in the near future."

Virgin has already revealed plans to run two services a day from Shropshire to London, but chamber bosses hope to increase that to help drive business into the county.

The Department for Transport has so far refused to be drawn on the rumours, said in a statement: "We are aware of the concerns of the people of Shropshire and local desires for improved services between Shrewsbury and London.

"We continue to work with Virgin Trains on this matter, there a number of issues to resolve and we continue to look at the business case for the potential introduction of such a service."

Shropshire has been without a direct rail link to London since the Wrexham & Shropshire route closed in January 2011.