Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns

Debate between Helen Morgan and Julia Buckley

Monday 23rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Julia Buckley]

The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point. Public transport must combine both trains and buses to make sure that all communities are well served.

As I was saying, Shropshire is the only county in the UK without a direct train to London. We can change at Birmingham, Stafford or Crewe, but that doubles our chances of a delay or a cancellation, creates extra barriers for those with mobility issues, and reduces work productivity for commuters. Not having a direct service is such a missed opportunity, because our town is the economic powerhouse of the region.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

The hon. Lady is my constituency neighbour, and she is making an excellent speech about how wonderful Shropshire is. Also lovely is Oswestry in my constituency, another medieval town with a great history. I support the call that I think she will make for a direct service to London that runs through the whole of Shropshire, but in my constituency the rail line goes to Gobowen, not Oswestry, and that is really important. I support the call for the service, but does she agree that it is really important that Oswestry is linked to Gobowen, so that people in all our medieval towns can benefit from the railway?

[Julia Buckley]

I thank the hon. Lady for making that point about the inter-regional connectivity between our market towns. We need to get to London, but also to travel to each other. In Shropshire, we have three hospitals dotted throughout the county. Because of the lack of buses between those hospitals, we are reliant on trains. She makes a valuable point.

I was saying that Shrewsbury is the economic powerhouse of the region. Indeed, a recent report on our visitor economy shows that Shropshire’s tourism sector is worth a staggering £1 billion to the economy, supporting nearly 10,000 jobs across the county. Transport for Wales recognises Shropshire as a net contributor to the Welsh network, because we offer such fantastic employment, training and leisure opportunities to travellers. The Shropshire chamber of commerce’s quarterly business survey consistently reports the need for additional rail services, and states how much economic growth this would unlock, because additional contracts would be secured, increasing employment. Students no longer have the option of studying at a university in Shrewsbury, so travelling to London or stations along the way is hugely important for skills growth.

To fill the gap in services, Alstom UK has a bid for an open-access operation on the proposed Wrexham, Shropshire and midlands railway. It is offering up to four trains daily, based on its economic modelling of the latent demand at Shrewsbury. The railway would provide a total of six underserved rural towns with new connections to London.

Road Safety: Young Drivers

Debate between Helen Morgan and Julia Buckley

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Julia Buckley]

I agree, and it is absolutely excellent to hear of any support for families who have been bereaved as a result of a collision. That can be used to educate others, so that we can try to prevent accidents in the future. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention.

However, a majority of drivers wrongly assume that urban roads are more dangerous. That leads to an underestimation of the risks involved in driving on rural roads. NFU Mutual produced a code for countryside roads to support education and awareness-raising of the specific driving skills that would help. That could be incorporated into the driving test or a follow-up course of additional learning as part of the driver’s probationary period.

Many young people who live in rural areas feel isolated and, as a consequence, feel compelled to start driving as early as possible because of the lack of public transport, which leaves them unable to access college work, social or sporting activities. In Shropshire, we have lost more than 5,000 bus routes since 2010 and 17-year-olds are increasingly driving their first car out of necessity—something that would be anathema to a teenager growing up in London or Manchester, where public transport is so easy and cheap to use.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

I congratulate my constituency neighbour on securing this critical debate. She is making an excellent case for improving road safety for young people. Does she agree that putting public transport infrastructure in place is critical to giving people options, and to enabling them to have a social life and feel less isolated in rural areas without having to get in the car at a very young and very risky age?