Call for better cross-border rail links to London
Timings of trains using Shrewsbury station must be improved to help cross-border services link up with London trains, the Welsh government said today.
A consultation was launched this week into the new franchise on the West Coast Main Line rail network, which includes the Virgin-run Shrewsbury to London service.
It will set out the terms for the next operator on the route once the current deal comes to an end in April 2018, with members of the public invited to have their say.
Wales's government used its consultation response to call for better links between Welsh services and trains to London from Shropshire.
It also wants more direct services from Wrexham to the capital, via Chester rather than Shrewsbury.
Although Shrewsbury and Telford are managed by different franchises, they are both on the route map for the Inter City West Coast franchise.
More than 34 million journeys were made on franchise services between April 2014 and March 2015, carrying passengers a cumulative distance of 4.3 billion miles.
The Department for Transport is now looking for ways to improve customer satisfaction through the new franchise, including with improved WiFi – with plans in place to install free WiFi across 90 per cent of the network – customer rewards, and making staff more visible on trains and at stations.
In issuing a new franchise it will demand that potential operators set out how they will improve customer service, punctuality and reliability.
The document says: "Our vision for the new franchise is to deliver a rail service that makes journeys better for passengers; works in partnership with communities to understand and support their needs and the towns it serves; and connects and helps grow and develop the current market to enable economic growth and support the long-term vision of HS2 services.
"With passengers providing about 60 per cent of the rail industry's revenues and 40 per cent funding from government it is important that rail services provide value for money for the taxpayer and fare-paying passengers."
