Suspicion over new city rail plan
LETTER: Before we all get carried away by the prospect of having not one but two railway companies providing through trains to London from Shropshire, the proposal by Arriva Trains Wales to launch a direct service route between Aberystwyth and London Marylebone with stops in Telford and Shrewsbury should be regarded with suspicion.
Before we all get carried away by the prospect of having not one but two railway companies providing through trains to London from Shropshire, the proposal by Arriva Trains Wales to launch a direct service route between Aberystwyth and London Marylebone with stops in Telford and Shrewsbury should be regarded with suspicion.
Until the admirable Wrexham and Shropshire came on the scene no other railway company had shown the least interest in the service. This spoiling manoeuvre by Arriva must not be allowed to go ahead.
Far more sensible, especially for the long-suffering passenger, would be for the Wrexham and Shropshire to run the extra trains on to Aberystwyth, slotted in to its current schedule – and making it possible for the more caring company to gain some access to Birmingham.
The Wrexham and Shropshire has already been shown able to provide a superior passenger service that reflects that of owners DB, the German state railway, controllers also of its sister company Chiltern Railways. Customer satisfaction rates more highly with that organisation than with most British companies.
I urge Ieuan Wynn Jones, the Welsh Assembly Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport to consider seriously switching his request for an examination of the options for the new service from Arriva to the customer-sensitive Wrexham and Shropshire.
Perhaps then in some small way we can benefit from the European railway experience.
John Beck
Condover
