Rail travel times between Shrewsbury and Birmingham to be cut

Midlands Connect also hope to add an hourly direct line to London from Shrewsbury, Wellington and Telford

Commuters on rail services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham could see their travelling time cut.

Midlands Connect hopes to cut the services travel time from 56 minutes to 45 minutes, as part of its Strategic Transport Plan.

The time improvements will be made by track upgrades and possible electrification.

They also hope to create an hourly direct service from Shrewsbury, Wellington and Telford to London.

The government-funded body said HS2 would make this possible, as it would take many long distance trains off the existing railway network and give them the capacity to add more services.

The plan also includes rail improvements between Birmingham, Derby and Nottingham and a direct service between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.

Midlands Connect added the key challenges facing the Midlands included the lack of mobility, that was in turn holding back economic growth.

The quicker journey times will be part of the Midlands Rail Hub which will cost around £2.2 billion and create space for up to 24 extra passenger trains an hour.

It will also hope to create space for 36 extra freight paths a day, with the potential to move 4,320 lorries' worth of goods from our roads to onto railways, reducing congestion and carbon emissions.