David Warburton, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton and Frome has met the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP to discuss plans and potential government funding for the revival of the local railway stations at Langport and Somerton.
Thousands of local stations across Britain were closed in the 1960s including Somerton and Langport East, leaving a gap of more than 28 miles between Taunton and Castle Cary - the longest section of railway without a station from London to Penzance. With stations at Taunton, Castle Cary, Bridgwater and Yeovil Junction all 10 - 15 miles away, Somerton lies in the centre of a large area of central Somerset denied easy access to the rail network. There are no buses to Castle Cary or Taunton stations.
Last year, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP launched the government’s New Stations Fund, allocating £20m to support the re-launch of local railway networks. In October, David Warburton announced his commitment to the campaign to revive the stations at Somerton and Langport, and invited the Leader of the House of Lords, the Rt Hon Lord Hill of Oareford OBE, to a campaign launch event at Somerton. Following this event, David issued a survey to local residents, seeking their views on the proposed project. The survey prompted an overwhelming response, with hundreds of local people declaring universal support for the scheme.
David commented, “Last week I took the results of our local railway survey to Patrick McLoughlin in Westminster, and showed him the overwhelming enthusiasm and support from local people for this proposed scheme.”
“Re-opening the stations at Langport and Somerton would be hugely beneficial for the area; expanding railway links is good for business, for commuters, for retail, for our communities, for families and of course tourism. Boosting rail travel also reduces traffic congestion and emissions - it’s really a win-win situation for all.”
Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin issued this statement: “This is an important initiative and I encourage David and other local campaigners to collate the case and apply for funding from the New Stations Fund. It would seem that there are clear benefits to local people and industry in and around the area.”
David Warburton also asked him to provide a further tranche of funding in a renewed New Stations Fund as part of the financial commitments for the next general election and will be campaigning for this to form part of the election manifesto.
Connecting to the existing stopping service from Bristol to Castle Cary would allow a two-hourly two carriage service to run in each direction in a circle covering Bristol-Bath-Westbury-Castle Cary-Somerton-Langport-Taunton-Bridgwater-Bristol. The new network would establish access to the main rail network at Taunton or Castle Cary, and allow rail commuters a straightforward route to Bath, Bristol or Taunton and residents to quickly and easily access shops and services in these nearby cities.