The Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones has expressed her disappointment that a proposed rail link between London and Wales has been rejected. The proposal was for the re-introduction of a twice daily service to run directly between Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales and Marylebone Station in London. The service was taken out of action in 1991.

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) turned down the plans saying that they did not think they were financially viable. However Arriva Trains Wales who would have run the service said that re-opening the route would be beneficial for tourism in Wales and across Shropshire as well as the local economy.

It has emerged that the Wrexham and Shropshire rail route had already expressed a concern that the competition from the route might damage their business.

This fact has infuriated Ms. Jones who has called for full devolution of the control of local railways to Wales. She said that the London based ORR had merely been looking after the interests of an English rail service when making its decision, not at how a revival of the service might benefit Wales. She said that this illustrated the need for the Welsh Assembly to be given the power to provide rail services that would best serve the needs of the local people.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Assembly Government said that a recently published report by the enterprise and learning committee had dealt with the recommendation that more control over the railways should go to Wales and was to be discussed.