Rob TriggShropshire political reporter

BBC A blue-haired woman, wearing a black hoodie, standing in front of a black and white railway sign, which reads, "Gobowen for Oswestry".BBC

Charlotte Foster drives an hour to board a direct train to London

A new train company is hoping its proposals for new daily services from Shropshire to London Euston could begin towards the end of 2026.

Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR), which is led by international rail firm Alstom, submitted a new bid at the end of last year to provide four daily trains.

The county has not had a direct train link to the capital since Avanti West Coast stopped its single daily service in 2024 because of low passenger numbers.

The move has been welcomed by regular commuter Charlotte Foster, who lives on the Welsh border. She said a direct service would save her the stress of missing a connection or catching a train elsewhere.

Mrs Foster said: “I have tried going from Gobowen or Shrewsbury but the easiest and simplest option for me has always been to drive an hour to Wolverhampton”.

“I’m not having to worry about any delays on the trains through Shropshire and I’m not at risk of missing a connection.

“I used to miss trains all the time or be left waiting a long time at Wolverhampton before boarding a train for Shropshire,” said the running coach, who has clients in the capital and also volunteers at the London Marathon.

A computer generated image of a green map of the Midlands, showing the locations of various towns and cities. They are written in white and joined by an orange line linking Wrexham General in Wales with London Euston. An image of a passing train and station platform can be seen on the left hand side.

Shropshire is the only county in England without a direct service to London

WSMR is proposing to stop at a minimum of seven locations along the route, including stations in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Its initial bid for five daily services in each direction was rejected by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in July 2025.

The regulator raised concern about added congestion on the West Coast Mainline near London, which would have had “a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience”.

In the new application, WSMR has reduced the number of daily services to four and included an additional stop at Wellington, Shropshire.

WSMR’s Mobilisation Director Darren Horley said about a thousand passengers would board its services each day while boosting Shropshire’s economy by about £2.2m a year.

The operator is also jointly behind a proposal to build a Shrewsbury Parkway station near the Preston roundabout on the A5.

Julia Buckley A dark-haired man in a black coat and and dark-haired woman in a grey blazer and white top, looking at a laptop with the woman pointing at the screen.Julia Buckley

Darren Horley’s bid has the backing of the Shropshire’s councils and MPs, including Shrewsbury’s Labour MP Julia Buckley

“Having connections to London is vital for some of these towns and cities, but equally, they have lots to offer themselves,” said Mr Horley, who has worked in the railway industry for 30 years.

“They would see a significant chunk of economic growth, the biggest being in Shrewsbury and Walsall.

“The previous service by Virgin Trains and then Avanti was one service so it wasn’t economically viable. But we believe four trains a day will drive growth and demand,” he added.

WSMR is hoping it will be granted an “open access” contract by the ORR, which means it would receive no government subsidies or be tied to a government franchise agreements.

The ORR is expected to make a decision on the seven year track access agreement in spring 2026.