Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns

Julia Buckley Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

I am delighted to lead this debate to enable the House to discuss the need for rail connections between London and rural towns.

As the Minister well knows, I represent the beautiful constituency of Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire and home to some 70,000 residents. We already have the nation’s favourite market, winning the national award no fewer than three times, but this weekend we were once again named one of Britain’s best places to live, according to The Sunday Times in its annual guide. Judges praised our “period-drama backdrop”, our fabulous range of eateries and our cool suburbs. The Sunday Times went on to say:

“The award-winning indoor market is surely one of the most inspiring places to shop in the whole country… the town centre has enough quirky delis, bakeries, bars and cafés to keep you in top-notch flat whites…and espresso martinis every day of the week. Culture comes courtesy of the cinema in the Old Market Hall and the boldly brutalist Theatre Severn”.

It added that Shrewsbury

“even has its own cool suburbs in Belle Vue, where volunteers run an annual arts festival”.

That is before we mention the 600 listed buildings, the Tudor castle and the riverboat cruises along the loop of the River Severn.

[Linsey Farnsworth (Amber Valley) (Lab)]

Shrewsbury certainly does sound like a wonderful place to visit. I am working hard on the visitor economy for Amber Valley, and an integrated transport system and good transport links are a vital part of that. There was a daily railway service running from London to Alfreton in my constituency until 2021, when it was unfortunately discontinued. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important for us to encourage people to come out of the big smoke and into our rural areas to see what we have to offer in, for instance, her constituency and mine, and that it is important that they have the transport links to facilitate their visits?

[Julia Buckley]

My hon. Friend has made a powerful point about the need to visit these beautiful spots around the country.

A loop of the River Severn encircles our medieval town with a beating modern heart on the border with Wales. However, before all Members in the Chamber rush to book their weekend break to Shrewsbury, I must tell them that there is a slight problem: how can anyone get there from here? Shropshire is the only county in the UK without a direct train service to London.

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

The hon. Member is making an excellent speech, and I empathise with her, because communities in Biggin Hill in my constituency are also completely without a railway station. Although the distance to Biggin Hill is 12 miles as the crow flies, it takes an absolute age to get there. Does she agree that such communities need to be served by efficient bus services, which are just as important?

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[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.

[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

Nuneaton serves as a valuable interchange for services to the economic centres of Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester, as well as for connections to Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted airport. Strengthening those regional links is estimated to be worth about £500 million across the region. Does my hon. Friend agree that routes such as the WSMR will deliver greater growth across our region, because by making more connections—not just to London, but to those centres—we will enhance the travel and services that we can offer?

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[Julia Buckley]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Connections between towns give rise to employment opportunities and create connectivity, which adds to our local economy, as well as having wider benefits.

The WSMR bid will not take profit from other operators, because they choose not to serve our town. Instead, open access could save Government funds by adding value and thousands of passengers to the existing mainline routes. Some 2.3 million passengers already use the Georgian station at Shrewsbury to access the gateway between the midlands and Wales. Adding a direct train service to London is projected to generate £9 million in gross value added every year for the regional economy. That would surely magnify Government investment in housing growth and employment.

On the latent demand, it is so encouraging to see that, in just the last month, a petition from passengers in favour of the service has accrued over 6,200 signatures. Our local transport partners, Transport for Wales and Network Rail, have both committed resources to a fresh masterplan for Shrewsbury station that can explore the investment needed to unlock our infrastructure and generate additional capacity.

To conclude, could the Minister outline how the Department for Transport seeks to work with other rail partners to maximise investment in underserved towns such as mine, and what economic assessment has been made of the cost-benefit and the social and economic benefit of a direct train from Shrewsbury to London in the near future?

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend, who is making a fine speech, is a passionate champion for her constituency. Does she agree that there are many new opportunities for rural communities in a post-covid world because they are really attractive places to live and work, and that the Government have a huge opportunity to harness their potential for economic growth but that we need better rail connectivity to help achieve that?

[Julia Buckley]

My hon. Friend makes a really important point, because most modelling shows that passenger numbers have not just recovered post covid, but have grown significantly. To achieve modal shift, we need to lean into that latent demand and make sure we provide opportunities for people to travel by train.

I would also like to ask the Minister: how can we unlock the economic potential that comes from increased rail connectivity for high-growth county towns such as Shrewsbury? As part of the 48% that are not yet in a combined mayoral authority, what strategic framework is available to support rural towns such as mine with direct transport investment? To wrap up, when will the Minister book his train trip to Shrewsbury to see for himself what a beauty spot we have to offer, and to find out just how much easier the journey would be with a direct service?