Letter: Facts about railway services

LETTER: Yes, the overcrowding on these trains is unacceptable, but before castigating solely Arriva, here are a few facts. local politicians and MPs should be aware of.

Firstly, there is no legal obligation to limit the number of passengers on a train, unlike planes and coaches.

Perhaps the next government needs to review this, but how can it be enforced when 99 per cent of rail services are run on a "turn up and board" basis?

Secondly, Arriva's franchise on this route is primarily to provide train services for the Welsh population into the West Midlands, not to provide commuter services for Shropshire.

That franchise and responsibility belongs to London Midland.

However, as those of us who have used the services know, the Arriva trains, being a "limited stop" service and about 15 to 20 minutes quicker from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, are the ones which are overwhelmingly popular with the commuters.

The answer is not to go after Arriva, it is to get the London Midland franchise reviewed so that LM has to provide at least two, possibly three, extra trains in each rush hour which follow the "limited stop" pattern and are timetabled just a few minutes before the Arriva services from Wales.

Those will at a stroke remove the overcrowding and leave Arriva to primarily serve its Welsh patrons (its subsidy comes from the Welsh government in any case) and London Midland with its nice new trains to provide a proper service for its (large) subsidy to run the commuter services between Birmingham and Shrewsbury.

Bill Graham

Wellington