Petition over rail service is growing

Almost 4,500 campaigners have signed a petition to reinstate an axed rail service that served commuters in the Black Country.

Wrexham & Shropshire operated its last direct service to Marylebone, London, on Friday.

The company blamed low passenger numbers and the fallout of the economic downturn for the demise of the three-year-old route.

Now, a total of 4,496 people have signed an online petition called Save Wrexham & Shropshire Rail Service.

Passengers who used the service, which called at Tame Bridge Parkway train station on the Walsall and West Bromwich border, want MPs to push for it to be replaced.

Rail users are also being urged to sign the online petition, which can be found via Facebook, to put pressure on the Government and Department for Transport to reinstate the service.

Public transport campaigner Richard Worrall, of Walsall, was among the last passengers to use the route on its last day.

"The main thing now is to get a London service back that will hopefully go through Walsall," Mr Worrall said.

Campaigner Alex Matthews has written to the Transport Rail Group.

He said: "I have to say that I am furious about this. How can it be that a railway line with such an amazing service in all departments — punctuality, quality, customer service, price — is allowed to go by the wayside.

"Something must be done to save this standard-setting railway line. If no private ownership option is available then it should be brought under public ownership immediately and used as the standard bearer for rail services."

Wrexham & Shropshire said the firm lost £2.8 million in 2010.

The service used 10 stations between Wrexham and London, including Shrewsbury, Telford, Cosford and dropped off at Wolverhampton, but was not allowed to take on passengers there.