Midlands Connect has submitted a business case to the Department for Transport to improve the railway route between Shrewsbury, the Black Country, and Birmingham.

Last year, Midlands Connect issued a “Rails to Recovery” report which found that electrifying the route and extending services from London to Shrewsbury could create up to £500 million of benefits for businesses and residents if trains ran hourly to London. The Government’s Union Connectivity Review has identified the importance of Shrewsbury as a centre for connecting Mid & West Wales to the Midlands.

The track would require minor realignments in two places, and improvements to signalling on the line, but the proposed improvements would boost line speed to 90 miles per hour.