Funding bid for heritage railway link rejected

There have been several attempts to join the West Somerset Railway to mainline services

Efforts to connect a heritage railway with mainline services have hit a snag after the government refused to fund the project.

The West Somerset Railway (WSR) runs between Bishop's Lydeard, a few miles outside Taunton, and Minehead via numerous small stations in west Somerset.

Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway had submitted a business case asking for £137,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT) to connect the line with mainline great Western Railway services at Taunton.

The department has now announced it will not be providing funding for the project, but will hold discussions with the council to see what improvements can be made locally.

MP Rachel Gilmour said her constituents faced "many challenges" with transport

Rachel Gilmour, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, raised the issue with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in the House of Commons on 15 May.

She said people in Tiverton and Minehead face "many challenges when it comes to transport connectivity" and that the railway connection would allow students to access the sixth form facilities in Taunton and boost tourism.

Ms Alexander said the department "does not currently have any plans to take forward a development link between Bishop's Lydeard and Taunton".

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: "We are disappointed this link is not being considered, having worked closely with WSR on the business case.

"We look forward to the DfT reaching out to discuss this further and will continue to lobby for better regional transport connections with our partner authorities in the Peninsula Transport sub-national transport body."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.