Rail travel in Westbury could get a boost from a train operator proposing a significant addition to the rail timetable from summer 2022.
The proposal from GO-OP – an independent co-operative society – to provide passenger routes between Bishops Lydeard in Somerset (a station on the independent West Somerset Railway, not currently served by the main or connecting lines) and Swindon, will bring an additional six services a day to the town.
And the service will open up more interchange possibilities for Westbury residents, making trips to places like Weymouth, Yeovil and Dorchester more viable.
GO-OP’s operations director, Alex Lawrie, told White Horse News, “For residents in Westbury, they will have the opportunity to take almost twice as many services to Taunton as there presently are. We will have six trips a day between Taunton and Westbury, and three of those go on to Swindon.
“And we are trying to work roughly in the opposite hours to the GWR Westbury to Taunton service – so what’s presently a two-hourly service, will hopefully start to feel more like an hourly service.
“And also from Westbury, you’ve got the opportunity to get additional trips through to Swindon – an additional three a day. And we’re also expecting opportunities for interchange at Castle Cary for travel to Yeovil, Dorchester and Weymouth to be much greater than it is at present.
“These are journeys that at the moment you wouldn’t seriously consider by rail, but they should become viable with the help of our service. So anyone in Westbury fancying a day out to the seaside – I think we can deliver the goods!”
Discussions between GO-OP and the West Somerset Railway (WSR) could lead to a scheduled daily service linking the national rail network, via Taunton, to the heritage railway at Bishops Lydeard for the first time in 50 years.
Passengers will be able to change there for leisure services to Minehead.
“The West Somerset Railway has always encouraged train operators to run trains to connect with the very popular heritage steam trains that run from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead”, said a spokesperson for West Somerset Railway. “We are at an early stage and will continue discussions as GO-OP resolves the many issues involved in running on the national network.”
The announcement follows the conclusion of capacity tests by Network Rail which have established that there is capacity on the network to introduce GO-OP’s services.
The next step will be a performance analysis to ensure that as the trains approach Swindon there will be no risk to the punctuality of other operators.
“We have been working towards this point for many years since we first began meeting as a group of frustrated rail travellers”, said GO-OP’s Alex Lawrie, “and for a while it looked like the pandemic might be one challenge too many.
“We are very grateful to the volunteers and staff of the West Somerset Railway, and to the many rail industry experts, who have enabled us to bring forward proposals that actually exceed our original ambitions in many ways.”
However, GO-OP’s plans to connect Westbury to the West Midlands – which White Horse News reported on in 2019 – with a train service going as far as Nuneaton, via Oxford, Leamington Spa and Coventry, have been put on hold.
GO-OP’s chairman, Martin Bond, told White Horse News, “We were hoping to run a service through to the West Midlands but unfortunately the line east from Swindon to Didcot and on to Oxford is so congested we were unable to find a way through.
“It is, however, still an objective. In the meantime we are starting with this truncated service to provide at least part of our aspiration.”
For more information about GO-OP’s plans, visit their website: www.go-op.coop
