Rival's 'threat' to rail service

Virgin said its services would offer customers greater choice

A rail company running trains between Wrexham, Shrewsbury and London has said it may not survive if Virgin launches a rival service.

Wrexham and Shropshire (W&S) said it could not compete fairly with Virgin, which received £35m public funding last year and has rights at key stations.

Virgin said it wanted to "fill gaps" and offer services at different times of day, not put W&S out of business.

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas said all companies should be on a "level playing field".

Virgin confirmed it plans to offer services from London to Shrewsbury and Wrexham at different times to W&S to maximise customer choice.

This would be terrible news for passengers, who would be left vulnerable to services being withdrawn at any time by a company with no real local interest Andy Hamilton, Wrexham and Shropshire

The company said it was confident the Office of Rail regulation (ORR) would "come down in favour of increased competition" and give the planned services the go-ahead.

However, it denied it was trying to put W&S out of business.

A spokesman said: "That's not what we're aiming to do."

He added: "Our services are filling quite big gaps in their services.

"We think that in a market where more people are travelling by train than at any time since 1947, there is room for two services throughout the day."

The spokesman stressed that Virgin's £35m in public funding was for the last financial year.

He said it would not be receiving subsidy in the next year and expected to pay a "premium" to the government.

W&S said it could be put out of business if Virgin was allowed to operate on its routes, whilst maintaining a "monopoly deal agreed with the government" at key stations.

Currently, Virgin has exclusive rights to operate at Wolverhampton and Birmingham International, meaning companies like W&S cannot compete.

Managing director Andy Hamilton said: "We are a local business and are totally committed to running trains for the communities we serve.

"When we launched last year, we restored a direct rail link to London that had been overlooked for a very long time."

He said the company welcomed "fair" competition, but added: "If the Office of Rail Regulation allow Virgin to run services in our key markets without allowing us to run in theirs, it is highly likely that we will not survive.

"This would be terrible news for passengers, who would be left vulnerable to services being withdrawn at any time by a company with no real local interest."

Objection

Mr Hamilton said the company would object to the ORR if Virgin applied to run the services.

Last month, Wrexham MP Ian Lucas met Transport Minister Lord Adonis to discuss local rail services.

He said he backed new transport links in his constituency, but not at the expense of others, and called for W&S to "get a fair deal".

W&S said it was also concerned that it could be affected if plans by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) to run a service from Aberystwyth to London are approved.

ATW expects to submit a proposal to the ORR for the service which would call via Shrewsbury.

W&S added: "Arriva Trains Wales is proposing to shadow some of our route and although they do not have a non-compete clause in place like Virgin, they do receive government subsidy."