'One last chance' to create new train service

Plans for a new rail service in Wiltshire and Somerset could derail, unless crucial funding can be found in the coming weeks.

Go-op Co-operative have plans to "compete with Great Western Railway" and offer more stops at stations such as Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Westbury, Swindon and Frome through use of diesel rolling stock.

The company needs to raise £3.6m by May 2026 to make their plans a reality - but have been unable to reach their target.

Go-op operations director Alex Lawrie said there is "one last chance to make this happen in this decade" and added the opportunity "is available for only a matter of weeks" before support from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is withdrawn.

The company wants to create a new train service which would see smaller stations across the region bolstered by more connections.

A fleet of class 150 diesel multiple trains - which currently operate in Wales but are due to come off lease soon - would be used if investment for Go-op's project can be secured.

The £3.6m needed to create the new train service would see £2.1m spent on the launch of the business and its trains, and £1.5m on upgrades to level crossings on the proposed route.

A third of the overall target has been met so far, estimates Lawrie, who was inspired to launch Go-Op following his own frustrations with train travel from Yeovil.

When plans for the new service were approved last year, the ORR said the decision created the"opportunity to bring the first co-cooperatively owned train service and the first regional open access service in the UK".

But since then, Lawrie claims investors "large and small" say "factors outside Go-op's control are making it impossible for them to commit to the investment that is required."

Lawrie added: "People have a right to know why this such a struggle.

"Regardless of the outcome of this particular contract, Go-op will continue to work towards public transport that is accountable to its users; and will explore more innovative approaches to mobilising investment in the Taunton-Swindon corridor."

The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.

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