TRAIN operator Wrexham & Shropshire, which links Banbury with Telford, Shrewsbury and North Wales, stopped operating on Friday.

The company, which began life in April 2008 as an open access operator, running without a Government subsidy, said it had “no prospect of reaching profitability”.

The announcement was made on Wednesday of last week, just as W&S was named the top train operator in the country in terms of customer satisfaction. It scored 96 per cent in a survey by the watchdog body Passenger Focus.

A company spokesman said: “Wrexham & Shropshire is not insolvent, nor is it being placed in administration. All outstanding financial commitments will be met.”

Wrexham & Shropshire employs 55 staff, most based in Shrewsbury and Wrexham.

The company is jointly owned by Chiltern Railways’ parent company, Deutsche Bahn UK, and Renaissance Trains, which also has a stake in another open-access operator, Hull Trains.

It blamed an “unprecedented economic environment” for the closure.

Chairman Adrian Shooter added: “Regrettably, we have concluded that the potential for further changes to the company’s operations, including any synergy with Arriva Trains Wales (recently taken over by Deutsche Bahn), will not improve the financial position sufficiently.

“The shareholders have invested in excess of £13m in launching the business and funding its losses, and have now concluded that there is no reasonable prospect that Wrexham & Shropshire can become profitable, or offer a return on this investment.”

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “This is a bitter blow to the UK rail industry and it is a scandal that a giant company like Deutsche Bahn can play fast and loose with our rail services in this way and then and cut run when they decide the profit margins aren’t fat enough for their liking.

“The UK Government should now step in and nationalise the route, to protect both the jobs and the popular Wrexham & Shropshire services. There should be a full inquiry into how this operation, set up with Welsh government and taxpayer support, has been ground into the dust by Deutsche Bahn. Public ownership would protect that public investment rather than allowing the private rail asset strippers to walk away from the wreckage.

“Our immediate priority now is to protect our members caught in the middle of this scandalous private sector failure. We are meeting with the company with the aim of doing just that.”

Mr Crow added: “With the rug being pulled from under Wrexham & Shropshire, this shows conclusively that performance counts for nothing on our railways. All that matters is fat company profits, regardless of quality of services and rip-off fare increases. These figures reinforce the case against privatisation and for public ownership.”

Passengers holding W&S tickets for travel after Friday will be able to use them on alternative services. For more details, see the W&S website or call 0845 260 5200.