Mulit-million pound plans are in the pipeline to cut train journey times from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton by raising the line speed to 90mph.
Network Rail and the Department of Transport have joined forces in the project, which could be completed by 2011, after cash was secured through the Regional Funding Allocation (RFA) programme.
The enhancement will see the line speed raised from 70mph – a move which has been welcomed by the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passenger Association (SARPA).
Network Rail spokeswoman Mavis Choong said: “We are currently going through the technical design phase which will help us determine what needs to be done. There will be some general time saving but it is hard to determine how much will be saved until after the time tabling work is done.
“We are working towards completing the line speed improvement by 2011. It will be a multi-million pound scheme, but some schemes can take two to three years to design.
“We have to bear in mind other external factors such as finding the appropriate time to carry out the work to minimise disruption to passengers and we will work very closely with operators.”
The news comes just four months after the Chronicle revealed Shrewsbury could be in line for direct train services to Blackpool and Coventry as part of Network Rail’s proposals for a high-speed route stretching the length of the country.
Russell Mulford, president of Shropshire Railway Society, said: “What has been lacking is upping the standard of the line to 90mph. There has been a growing need and this will speed up journey times between Shropshire and the West Midlands and from a Wrexham and Shropshire point of view it speeds up time between here and London.”
By Charlotte Hester