A DIRECT rail service from Banbury to Shropshire and North Wales is not likely to start operating until December, due to a dispute over planned stops by the service in the West Midlands.
The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company, which is backed by the Laing Group, the owner of Chiltern Railways, wants to run five trains a day each way between London, Banbury, Wolverhampton, Telford, Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
However, Virgin Trains, owned by Kidlington-based tycoon Sir Richard Branson, has a non-compete clause in its franchise for London-West Midlands trains, which stops other operators carrying passengers between Wolverhampton and London.
WSMR is now asking for consent to serve Tame Bridge Parkway station. It is on the edge of Walsall, close to the junction of the M5 and M6, but this change will mean a fresh round of consultation, delaying the start of services, which was originally planned for June.
For more details of the project, see www.wrexhamand shropshire.co.uk
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