Telford MP, Lucy Allan has today questioned the government about improving Telford’s rail service.
Lucy asked Patrick Mcloughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport: “What steps his Department is taking to increase the frequency of trains between Birmingham and Telford”.
To which the Minister replied: “Telford has more than a million passengers each year, I was pleased to negotiate services with Virgin Trains in 2014 from Shrewsbury to London via Telford and Birmingham. We are currently running a public consultation to specify the next West Midlands franchise and will launch a new public consultation on the West Coast franchise in June. I encourage my honourable friend and her constituents to make their views known during that process.”
Lucy then asked: “Telford is a rapidly growing new town and it is 26 miles from Birmingham and yet it can take 51 minutes to get there, will the Minister continue to work with me to ensure we have a 21st century rail system for Telford?”
To which the Minister replied: “I most certainly will, I think one of the things that I certainly recognise is the growing importance of connectivity between cities and the point that my honourable friend makes about Telford and the relationship with Birmingham is very very important indeed.”
Commenting afterwards Lucy said:“Improving rail services in Telford was one of my key election pledges. Residents raise the poor service with me regularly. I am determined to see services improved. For Telford to continue to thrive we need better connectivity into Birmingham, the West Midlands and the country as a whole. Like the Minister I will encourage people to take part in the consultation to help deliver a better rail service for Telford.”
To take part in the consultation, please visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/west-midlands-rail-franchise. The deadline for entries is 11.45 pm on 22/03/2016.