Capital link must go through our town; WAG PROMISE SOUGHT OVER KEY RAIL ROUTE TO CARDIFF.

Byline: STEVE BAGNALL

COUNCIL chiefs have demanded the Welsh Assembly Government honour promises for the Holyhead to Cardiff express train to go through Wrexham within the next two years.

They want the pledge to become a reality by 2011 as Wrexham County Borough Council chiefs review their transport priorities.

The new, faster and more comfortable train service between North and South Wales was launched in December 2008.

But it does not go through Wrexham -North Wales' largest town.

Wrexham council leader Aled Roberts said: "At the moment the service goes via Chester and it does not operate through Wrexham, which is North Wales' largest town.

"One of the things we want to see is investment in the line and we would want the Welsh Assembly Government's promise for the Holyhead to Cardiff service to go through Wrexham in 2011, to be honoured," he added.

The express service was backed by pounds 1.7m of Welsh Assembly cash.

Last week WAG officials insisted the plans for the service were progressing.

A WAG spokesman said: "The Welsh Assembly Government agrees that this service should run through Wrexham and is disappointed that there isn't a train path available from Holyhead to Cardiff via Wrexham with an arrival before 10 o'clock.

"The Welsh Assembly Government's National Transport Plan does however provide a commitment to addressing this issue.

"A feasibility study of improvements to the Holyhead to Cardiff services is progressing well and is due to report December 2009.

"Its aim is to identify infrastructure and time-tabling improvements which would both speed up journey times for both normal and express services - and enable us to route the Gerallt Gymro express service through Wrexham rather than Crewe.

The spokesman said the normal two-hourly direct service between Holyhead and Cardiff, introduced in December 2005, had always run via Wrexham. But there was no capacity on that route for the new express to permit it to reach Cardiff by 10am.

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CAPTION(S):

Wrexham Council leader Aled Roberts says the Cardiff rail link from North Wales must go through the town - which is North Wales' largest