There’s good news for Welshpool’s rail commuters today as it was revealed the service between Shrewsbury and Birmingham will be doubled as part of the renewal of a key rail franchise.
The Department for Transport has shortlisted two companies to take over the running of the West Midlands Rail Franchise from October 2017, after which the number of trains running out of the county will increase.
Current operator London Midland runs one train an hour in each direction between Shrewsbury and the second city, but as part of the renewal of the franchisee will be told to run two.
London Midland could retain the running of the network, as its parent company London and West Midlands Railway Limited is one of the two companies shortlisted.
The other is West Midlands Trains Limited, which is majority owned by Dutch transport group Abellio, with two Japanese companies as minority partners.
