Volunteers vow to fight for early Gobowen-Birmingham service after rerouting plans revealed

Members of the Shrewsbury-Chester Rail Users' Association (SCRUA) are campaigning to save the 8.09am Gobowen service to Birmingham International which serves the city, airport and NEC as well as Telford and Wolverhampton.

The proposal, made by Transport for Wales, is one of several changes planned for the operator's timetable in December.

Under the plan the Gobowen service would be brought forward by 15 minutes and run to Cardiff via Shrewsbury instead. Passengers travelling to stations en route to Birmingham would need to change at Shrewsbury.

SCRUA volunteers say they have been canvassing opinions and have spoken to over 40 passengers, travelling on the morning train from Gobowen and say there has been "dismay" at the proposed changes.

Steve Boulding, chair of SCRUA said: "This is not the first time that we have needed to campaign to protect services in England run by Transport for Wales.

"The 08.09 is a popular service for those travelling through to Birmingham stations, not to mention the principal stations in between.

"Indeed, none of the passengers we spoke to were heading towards Cardiff or west Wales. Passengers described the extra hassle of a change at an already busy station, the potential for further delays and cancellation, a lack of seats and workspaces on what may prove to be a shorter train.

"Those travelling with luggage, especially the elderly, were particularly keen to preserve the current arrangement. We trust that Transport for Wales will understand the importance to the local economy and passengers of preserving this service to Birmingham."

A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: “December will see a number of operational changes to mainline services around our network and we are doing what we can to minimise the impact on customers.

“We understand the concerns raised by the rail user association and will be reviewing demand levels and feedback from the consultation.”