Key date for new railway station months away

Plans for a new railway station to connect residents in a "transport wilderness" to the main line are progressing.

Devizes' new station is partly dependent on a Platform 0 at Westbury being built, which would connect Westbury to Paddington and could run via Devizes.

Melksham and Devizes MP Brian Mathew said: "The big date is going to be in March. That's when the study is being published about Platform 0 at Westbury."

The town council has formed a task group of five councillors to advocate for the new station, which they hope could be built by 2032 if funding is secured.

Councillor Richard Oliver, chair of the task group, said the project is being taken "a lot more seriously" now after 14 years of discussions.

The station could be built at Lydeway just outside of Devizes, he added.

Network Rail has already recommended building the station to support population and economic growth.

But another big hurdle, even if Platform 0 is approved, is securing funding for the project.

"Devizes is a bit of a (transport) wilderness, the road connections are not brilliant, public transport connections are fairly poor," Oliver said.

"There's a real need seeing as we're getting more housing. More people need to move around more places.

"(Devizes) is a really good access point for Southampton, Salisbury and Bath – it would be a nicely placed stopping point between these places."

He added that the new station and car park would cost "millions into the double figures," but that the expected benefits it generated would justify the cost.

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