Shropshire lobbies for London link
Politicians are pushing railway chiefs to create a direct train service from Shropshire to London.
Shropshire County Council leader Keith Barrow united with county MPs Owen Paterson, Daniel Kawczynski and Philip Dunne to press the case to Abellio, one of the companies bidding to run services on the West Coast Main Line.
And the group is set to directly lobby other companies applying to operate the route, currently run by Virgin Trains.
"It's vitally important we have a direct train service to London, both for business people who need to get to the capital for meetings, but also for residents," said Barrow. "It'd be a real shot in the arm for our economy if the new operator agreed to run a direct service between Shropshire and London.
"The meeting with representatives from Abellio was very encouraging, and we hope to hold similar conversations in the near future with the other companies looking to take on the West Coast Main Line. Working together with our local MPs, we want to make it clear just how important we feel it is for Shropshire to have a direct link to London."
An announcement on which company will be awarded the 14-year contract to operate the line is due later this year.
