Shropshire MPs in crunch talks over London rail service

A delegation of MPs from Shropshire and Mid Wales will hold crunch talks with rail giant Virgin tomorrow in a bid to secure a new direct rail link to London, it was revealed today.

All five Shropshire MPs, plus Glyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire, and Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, met with Transport Minister Theresa Villiers yesterday to discuss the possibility of a restored link following the loss of the Wrexham & Shropshire service.

And following a "positive" meeting with the minister, Mark Pritchard, MP for the Wrekin, has organised a meeting with bosses at Virgin Trains tomorrow morning in Parliament.

It comes as the MPs today said they were considering launching a public campaign to build support.

The only way of reinstating a rail link to the capital is to see whether the service could be included in the West Coast franchise, which is currently under review.

Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, today said it was hoped that a new service could serve Holyhead on the west coast of Anglesey as well as Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Telford, before joining the West Coast mainline just outside Birmingham.

He said: "We were united,in calling for the franchise to consider an alternative route to Holyhead running through Shrewsbury and we were encouraged by the minister to make our case to the bidders for the franchise.

"We were also encouraged to seek public support for such a route which would require government subsidy."

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury, said he believed the proposed venture could help pave the way for increased business and tourism opportunities.