MP renews push for return of Oswestry's rail link with Gobowen

Helen Morgan said she wanted to "get Oswestry back on the main line"

An MP is renewing efforts to get a railway line which closed in 1966 reinstated in a Shropshire town.

Plans were presented to the government in 2022 for a light railway to link Oswestry up with the main line at Gobowen.

The line was shut in the 60s during the Beeching cuts, which saw thousands of stations closed and lines axed.

Helen Morgan, the North Shropshire MP, said: "Get Oswestry back on the main line".

The proposals were given to the government in September and Ms Morgan said they were told they would hear back from the government by spring but have not heard anything.

She has now arranged a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper.

In 2022, the railway going south to Weston Warf was reopened to steam enthusiasts

The Department for Transport said: "We're currently reviewing proposals for our Restoring Your Railway programme, which aims to deliver schemes that benefit local communities, and we expect to announce next steps later in the year."

• Listen: Oswestry rail line to reopen?

In the town, there were mixed reviews to the ideas of linking Oswestry back with the main line.

One man said it "wouldn't get used" and was a "waste of money" as people travel to Gobowen via bus or car.

Another resident said: "Anything to get more motorists off the roads".

One lady praised the idea and said: "I think it'd be nice to have it back again".

There has not been a railway line between Oswestry and Gobowen since 1966

Ms Morgan said one challenge was to figure out how the railway line would run under or over the A5 and suggested a "lighter type of train" might help.

"Slowing up traffic on the A5 isn't going to be a great solution, going under and over may be more expensive but it's a better technical solution," she said.

It would not be the first time Oswestry has had a rail line put back in use.

The track running south from Oswestry to Weston Wharf was reopened last year for steam enthusiasts by Cambrian Heritage Railways.