Ludlow councillors are asking Arriva Wales to reschedule the first morning train from the town to connect with the new Shrewsbury to London direct service. At present, the 6.11am from Ludlow arrives in Shrewsbury at 6.43am. The new train service is expected to leave Shrewsbury four minutes earlier at 6.39am.
Councillors Andy Boddington, Vivienne Parry, Richard Huffer and Tracey Huffer have written to Ian Bullock, Managing Director of Arriva Wales to ask that the first train from Ludlow is brought forward by ten minutes to connect with the new service.
Speaking on behalf of the councillors, Tracey Huffer said:
“Its great news that Shrewsbury will have a direct service to London again. Now we need to link this up with Ludlow, as well as Craven Arms and Church Stretton. That means we need the first train from Ludlow, which comes up from Cardiff, to run around ten minutes earlier.”
“The last direct service from Shrewsbury to London suffered from lack of passenger numbers. It wasn’t possible to catch the early morning service from Ludlow without driving to Shrewsbury. I am sure the new service will get a lot more passengers if it has connecting services from the south.”
“How frequently the new service is used will depend on prices. At the moment it can cost more than £200 to go from Ludlow to London for an early morning meeting. If the new service is to succeed, we need affordable prices.”