First formal step taken in bid to connect Oswestry to the national rail network
The first formal step has been taken to try to reopen a short stretch of train track and connect Oswestry to the national rail network via Gobowen.
Supporters say it would also prove a vital link between Shropshire’s specialist orthopaedic hospital and the railway mainline.
The Gobowen to Oswestry rail route was one of the casualties of Dr Beeching, cutting the town, once a major railway engineering hub, off from the mainline in the 1960s.
Boris Johnson has pledged to reopen some of the lines axed by the infamous Dr Beeching.
The Cambrian Railways, which operates the heritage railway in Oswestry, has now submitted an expression of interest to the Government.
If successful, it would see a community light rail service introduced.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, who is backing the bid, says the next step would involve working on a more detailed plan in March.
The first phase of the scheme would be to reopen the line between Gobowen and the old Park Hall Halt.
The halt is just a few hundred metres from the doors to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, which has thousands of visitors from across the region and beyond each week.
In the long term, Cambrian Railways would like to reopen the entire three-mile stretch from Gobowen to Oswestry.
Mr Paterson says it would be a huge benefit to people travelling to Manchester, Birmingham, London and the orthopaedic hospital.
He said: "I strongly support it. It would make an enormous difference.
"We know the bus service is inadequate. At certain times of day it's hard to get a taxi. This would bring rapid benefits.
"This is a really good bid. It's all pretty much there. With real minimum investment we could get this up and running. I don't think this would be that expensive."
