Plans for more Somerset stations move closer to reality

Councillor Connor Payne helped to secure £23,000 from local residents and businesses to fund an outline business case for Chard Station

Plans for new rail stations and a wider range of services in Somerset are moving closer to becoming a reality.

Chard Parkway, Wellington, Somerton, Langport, and The Gravity site near Bridgwater are looking to have railway stations in a few years.

Many of the county's stations were closed due to the Beeching cuts of the mid-1960s.

Devon Councillor Andrea Davis said "Better, more integrated" services were "vital" to the south west.

Some former mainline routes have been preserved as heritage lines, including the West Somerset Railway between Bishop's Lydeard and Minehead and the East Somerset Railway in Cranmore, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

An old footpath currently leads to the area proposed for the new Wellington railway station

Councillors said there was cause for optimism in 2024, as funding and planning for several new railway stations began to appear more secure:

• Wellington: The restoration project is expected to cost £15m and will be delivered by Network Rail, which is now leading the project.

• Chard Parkway: Councillor Connor Payne secured £23,000 from local residents and businesses to fund an outline business case, which was submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) in the autumn.

• Somerton and Langport: The strategic outline business case remains under consideration by the DFT.

• The Gravity Site: Efforts to deliver a new rail link to the site - which were originally priced at £50m - remain at a standstill until the potential occupier has signed on the dotted line.

Other improvements were also being explored which could provide Somerset with better rail services - including links to neighbouring settlements in Devon.

Great Western Railway services operate across the south west of England

The improvements put forward which would directly benefit Somerset included:

• A full review of timetables to ensure rail services are better integrated with local bus services

• Extending Bristol to Taunton and Cardiff to Taunton services as far as Exeter St. David's every two hours

• Allowing nine daily CrossCountry services between Exeter and Manchester Piccadilly to call at Bridgwater

• Expanding services between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth to one train per hour (via Frome, Bruton, Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill)

Ms Davis said: "The south west has been united in making the case for rail improvements for years.

"The peninsula has been constant in its message to government that the resilience of our rail network is crucial."