New application for Wrexham-Euston direct train service

PLANS for a direct rail route from Wrexham to London Euston are back on the table.

- By ALEC DOYLE

The Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway Company Limited (WSMR) - part of Alstom Group - has reapplied to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) to operate services from Wrexham to London Euston via Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Nuneaton, just five months after its last bid was rejected.

The July bid was built on two years of hard work and having taken on board feedback from the ORR - the independent economic and safety regulator for rail - on capacity and the safety of a number of foot crossings, WSMR has returned with a new bid.

Full details are yet to be published. However, WSMR has confirmed that the revised plans include fewer train paths - it is proposing four daily services each way rather than the original five - and including a new stop in Wellington, Shropshire.