Commons motion over Shrewsbury to London rail services bid

Virgin Trains run on the West Coast Main Line

Calls to establish a twice daily train service from Shropshire to London have been made in the Commons.

Virgin had applied to run two daily trains direct from Shrewsbury to London Euston but Network Rail rejected the bid over fears about punctuality.

Shrewsbury and Atcham Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski tabled a motion in the Commons calling on Network Rail to reverse the decision..

Virgin has said it will appeal against the decision.

'Damage done'

The Commons motion "acknowledges the damage done to the Shropshire economy" since the last rail link between London and Shrewsbury closed in 2011.

A spokesperson for Network Rail, the company in charge of the country's rail infrastructure, said twice as many trains were already using the West Coast Main line compared to a decade ago.

It has said: "We have acknowledged that performance on the West Coast line is not good enough and we are taking steps to improve it.

"However, adding more services onto what is already the busiest mixed use railway line in the UK would mean a trade off with punctuality.

"It would have a significant negative impact on performance for the thousands of other passenger and freight services that rely on this route every day."

A Department for Transport spokesman has admitted there was "limited space for new services" on the West Coast Main Line.

Richard Sheehan, from Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, said businesses were "extremely disappointed".

The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company axed its rail link to London in January 2011, blaming a fall in passenger numbers.

The service scored a 99% satisfaction rating in an independent survey.