Hollywood connection: Wrexham lines up three-hour direct rail service to London

Train maker Alstom plans fast service skirting Birmingham as Ryan Reynolds' football club takeover reaps in ever more benefits

Direct trains could next year connect Wrexham to London, with a new service capitalising on the town's Hollywood-meets-football mini-boom.

The train manufacturer Alstom is bidding to set up the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway with a promise of cheaper, more comfortable trains straight to London.