Britain’s rail regulator cleared the way yesterday for a new rail service between London and North Wales, providing a direct link between Wrexham and Marylebone station in London.

It is only the third time that a train company operating outside the regulated franchise system has won such approval.

The services, which will operate under the Wrexham & Shropshire name, will serve a population of more than 750,000 people along the route, with a further half a million within close reach of stations served. Stops will include Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wolverhampton and Banbury.

Wrexham & Shropshire’s licence starts in December and lasts for seven years, although passenger services will begin next spring. The licence allows it to run five services in each direction during the week. A more limited timetable will run on Saturday and Sunday.

The company will be one of only three so-called “open access” operators running regular, scheduled services on Britain’s rail network.

Open access companies put together route proposals at their own expense, to be run without government subsidy. If Network Rail can find capacity on the network, the operators must then seek approval from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

The ORR approval for the Wrexham service comes weeks before the launch of direct Sunderland to London services by Grand Central. The first open access operator was Hull Trains, which runs direct services from Hull to the capital.

Andy Hamilton, Wrexham & Shropshire’s managing director, said that the company would now take a further six months to finalise plans.

Bill Emery, the ORR’s chief executive, said: “The new route will bring significant benefits to passengers, particularly to Wrexham and other areas of Wales and Shropshire.”

Wrexham & Shropshire is owned by a joint venture between Laing Rail, which owns Chiltern Railways, and Renaissance Trains, which developed and launched Hull Trains.

Renaissance Trains is also working on open-access services between Glasgow and Liverpool and Nottingham, and the Humber coast to London.

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