Major blow as new proposed direct rail service from Shropshire to London is rejected

The proposal, from the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company Limited (WSMR), was one of three applications turned down by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

All were seeking track access contracts with Network Rail to run services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

The move would have provided a direct link between Wrexham General and London Euston - through Shropshire, with five trains a day, reinstating Shropshire's rail link to the capital after Avanti West Coast's services from Shrewsbury to London were scrapped last year.

The new service would have stopped at railway stations including Gobowen, Shrewsbury and Telford Central along the way. 

In a statement confirming the move the ORR said: "To introduce any of these proposals would be detrimental to performance on the WCML and therefore all passengers and freight customers."

Shrewsbury's Labour MP, Julia Buckley, who has been pressing for the fresh service, described the decision as 'incredibly disappointing' - but she has vowed to push for a revised proposal to be resubmitted "as soon as possible".

She said: “Today I received the initial decision from the rail regulator on the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR) which proposed running five direct trains a day to London.

"Unfortunately, the regulator has decided not to approve the application at this stage.

"This is incredibly disappointing, especially given the significant amount of work that has gone into supporting this bid to boost economic development across our region.

“I have been working closely with the applicant (Alstom), and we are determined to revise and resubmit the proposal as soon as possible, taking on board the feed back we have received.

“We will not give up until we have secured better rail services for the residents of Shrewsbury.”

Outlining the reasons for the rejection the ORR statement added: "In the case of these three applications, lack of capacity and the anticipated impact on performance alone meant we could not approve them. As such, our duty to have regard to the funds available to the Secretary of State was not relevant to this decision.

"ORR’s assessment of these applications included their operational viability, the benefits the services would generate, and the often-supportive views of passengers and local stakeholders. These factors did not alter our fundamental conclusion that the proposed services cannot be introduced due to insufficient space on the network and the likely detriment to train performance."

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said: "After thorough assessment of each application, it was clear that there was insufficient capacity to approve any of the services without a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience on the West Coast Main Line. 

“We recognise the potential advantages of competition on the West Coast Main Line, which is why we approved in 2024 the new London-Stirling services that First Group are due to start operating in 2026. However, it is clear that the southern end of the route requires space in the timetable to provide resilience. Additional services within the current timetable structure and planned capacity use would further weaken punctuality and reliability, not just at the south end of the WCML but elsewhere as well.”