Pressure needed on trains

The business section of the Shropshire Star on January 7 contained a piece about train services in Shropshire from the county's chamber of commerce.

It sought to play down the value of the open access train service between Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone, due to start in mid-2008 and to be operated by Laing Rail and Renaissance Trains.

This replicates a similar service operated by Hull Trains between Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire and London. This has grown over the past few years with further services planned.

Ask people in the Hull area and the East Riding which they prefer - their "own" operator or the East Coast franchise. There is no contest, particularly with the independent operator's lower fares.

In Shropshire the WSMR operation must be supported by business and leisure users. I am sure that the through train services to the efficient Marylebone station will be attractive.

The article refers to the old chestnut of electrification between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury but ignores north Shropshire.

Electrification would be superficially attractive but likely to be very difficult - do we fancy overhead wires around Shrewsbury station?

In any event it does not guarantee that the West Coast operator will wish to devote expensive resources to trains that will, at best, run at two hourly intervals and be lightly loaded.

It is time that Shropshire began to press for what it wants to improve the present and future services.

W R Clarke, Shrewsbury