Network
SHREWSBURY is to lose its direct daily Avanti West Coast service to London from the June timetable change.
The decision implements an instruction from the Department for Transport to AWC to create train paths for open access start-up Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR).
Contributing Writer rail@bauermedia.co.uk
DfT says that AWC’s 0704 Shrewsbury-London Euston (arr 0954) and 1816 Euston-Shrewsbury (arr 2102) currently operate at a £1.4 million annual loss. The withdrawal will affect “an estimated 40-60 people per day who will now need to change trains to make the same journey [on AWC]”, it said.
AWC said its existing Shrewsbury trains (which also call at Telford and Wellington) will continue to run from the West Midlands, with the morning train instead starting at Birmingham New Street and the evening train terminating at Wolverhampton. Pre-COVID, AWC was running two daily trains from Shrewsbury.
Last year, WSMR made initial approaches to the DfT and the Office of Rail and Road, along with an industry consultation. It set out an indicative timetable with five trains a day each way from Wrexham to Shrewsbury and Euston, and four on Sundays.
“While it is ultimately a decision for the Office of Rail and Road whether to approve this [open access] application, the Rail Minister has set out his support,” the DfT added.
WSMR declined to comment on any aspect of its plans, but it is understood to be making its formal open access application in the next few weeks.
Its timetabling factors in a host of forthcoming service changes, including long-planned extra AWC London Euston-Liverpool trains, creating a half-hourly interval service.
Overall, Shrewsbury will gain an improved service from June as West Midlands Trains (WMT) plans to operate “around 20 more trains a day” between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street. This includes reinstating its hourly service that was cut back to two-hourly during COVID.
In addition, says the DfT, AWC plans to “incrementally increase the number of fast services between London and Birmingham, improving options for those travelling between London and Shrewsbury”.
WSMR plans to use some of the 27 125mph
