Britain's most highly rated rail operator, Wrexham & Shropshire, has collapsed after becoming the second long-distance train operator in two years to shut.
W&S announced its closure on the same day that it topped the National Passenger Survey for the second successive quarter with a 96% approval rating from passengers using its service. However, plaudits for its approachable staff and competitive fares were not enough to persuade the owners of the Wales-to-Marylebone operator that the loss-making business will make a profit in the near future.
Adrian Shooter, W&S's chairman, said that a service that lost £2.8m last year could not justify further investment by its main shareholder, Germany's state rail operator, Deutsche Bahn: "The shareholders have invested in excess of £13m in launching the business and funding its losses and have now concluded that there is no reasonable prospect that Wrexham & Shropshire can become profitable, or offer a return on this investment."
W&S decided to close after a number of profitability schemes failed, including a reduction in the number of daily services from five to three. The last W&S service will run on Friday, with tickets booked beyond the weekend valid on services operated by Virgin Trains, London Midland, Chiltern Railways and Arriva Trains Wales. The last train to depart will be the 18.30 from Marylebone station, in central London, to Wrexham General. About 55 staff are likely to lose their jobs.
The failure of W&S follows the collapse of the National Express East Coast franchise, which was handed back to the government in 2009 after National Express admitted it could no longer afford the £1.4bn contract for the London-to-Edinburgh route
The closure of W&S will not trigger a repeat of the hand-wringing over the rail franchising system that occurred in the wake of the East Coast furore. National Express was tied to a formal contract with the Department for Transport whereas W&S is a so-called "open access" operator that has no contract, receives no taxpayer subsidy and does not have to adhere to a strict timetable.
That was not the only difference with the east coast contract. National Express was criticised towards the end of its east coast stint for cost-saving initiatives including charging for seat reservations, while W&S won much more favourable backing from passengers. Passenger Focus, the rail user watchdog, said W&S would be missed after heading its quarterly survey for the past six months. "It's a shame that Wrexham & Shropshire – clearly a passenger favourite – will no longer be part of the choice available to passengers," said Anthony Smith, its chief executive. "From the start, they have been rated highly by passengers and we trust that other train companies will look at their scores for innovative ideas on how to deliver high quality services." The ratings for W&S were well above the national average which saw 84% of passengers satisfied with their journeys.