Shrewsbury Railway Station may be handed over to new operator
The running of Shrewsbury Railway Station could be handed over to a new operator under plans for the future of the region's railways.
Arriva Trains Wales currently manages the station as the operator of the Wales and Borders Rail Franchise.
But a consultation has now been launched over the future of the franchise, which includes plans to transfer the running of stations in Shrewsbury, Hereford and Chester to other operators.
That would most likely mean Shrewsbury and Hereford's stations becoming part of the next West Midlands franchise, which is currently run by London Midland but which is due for renewal later this year.
Other stations in the county which are served only by Arriva trains would be kept in their existing franchise under the plans, because the Department for Transport fears that owners would not have any incentive to invest in stations where few of their trains call.
The new franchise will also mean that one of Arriva's services – between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton on a Sunday – will be transferred to the West Midlands operator from December 2021.
"We are taking the right steps towards achieving our ambitious plans to transform rail services in the Wales and Borders area," said Ken Skates, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure.
"We are keen to hear your views that will help us to make the right decisions now in order to give us a rail service that we can all be proud of."
A consultation has now been launched into the proposals, which will include an open event at the Gateway Centre in Shrewsbury on March 20.
Mr Skates added: "This consultation aims to look in more detail at some of those areas to inform the procurement of the next Wales and Borders Rail Service."
At present 128 trains a day run in and out of Shrewsbury station, of which 83.6 per cent are operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
Services are already earmarked to change when a new West Midlands franchise is announced later this year. An extra hourly service to Birmingham will be introduced late next year, and trains and carriages will be either replaced or revamped.
It was announced last year that Arriva Trains Wales is one of the four pre-qualified preferred bidders for the franchise when it is next awarded in early 2018, along with Abellio Rail Cymru, KeolisAmey and MTR Corporation.
The operator currently gets a subsidy from the Welsh Government of between £150m and £180m a year.
Rail privatisation laws stop the Welsh Government giving the contract to public sector bodies.
