Direct rail service plan supported by PM

Plans for a new passenger rail service running direct trains between north Wales, the West Midlands and London have received support from the prime minister.

A new open-access rail operator, called the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR), has been formed, offering passengers in Wrexham, as well as Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Walsall and Coleshill, a direct link with the capital.

Speaking in the Commons, Shrewsbury's Labour MP Julia Buckley asked Sir Keir Starmer if he would support the provider's application.

The prime minister responded, saying he would be "delighted to make sure the MP and other interested MPs meet with the rail minister to put their case forward".

Proposals for the new operation from WSMR could see five trains per day running in each direction from Monday to Saturday, with four services running in both directions on a Sunday.

Trains will stop at Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Walsall, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes on the route between Wrexham General and London Euston.

The route would bypass Birmingham by utilising a railway line only used for freight services, with trains running directly from Wolverhampton and Walsall to Nuneaton for the first time, a WSMR spokesperson said.

A formal application to open the service was submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on Thursday, they added.

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