Formal Application for Wrexham to Euston Service Submitted
On Thursday 14 March, a formal application was submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for a new open-access passenger rail service running direct trains between Wrexham, the West Midlands and London.
A new open-access rail operator named the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR) has been formed by Alstom and SLC Rail.
If approved, it is hoped that the new service would begin in 2025 and would serve Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Walsall, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes on the route between Wrexham General and London Euston. There is a possibility that Aldridge could also be served when its new station opens later in the decade.
It comes at a time when Avanti West Coast has announced that its direct train service between Shrewsbury and London would end in June.
The new service was launched at a special event at Walsall Station.
Campaign for Rail accepted the invitation to attend the launch event and was represented by Media Officer, Peter Hughes and Secretary, Keith Fitch.
BBC Midlands Today covered the launch and Peter Hughes was one of the people interviewed by Liz Copper, the BBC’s North Midlands Reporter. The feature may be viewed below.
Campaign for Rail fully supports this new service which will not only provide direct connections to London for communities that have not had them previously, but will also link communities from one side of the West Midlands to the other with a direct service.