Independent railway plans at risk

Plans for an independent local train service are at risk unless the operator can secure £2.6 million by May.

Go-op – a co-operatively owned operator – shared plans last year to run weekday and weekend services between Taunton and Weston-super-Mare; Taunton and Westbury; Taunton and Swindon; and Frome and Westbury.

The operator signed a contract with Network Rail last year. However, it has now warned that the benefits to Somerset and Wiltshire are in jeopardy because of ‘a hostile investment environment.’

Operations director Alex Lawrie said, “The business case is as strong as ever and we’ve not held back from offering strong returns on investment – keystone investors have the opportunity to double their money. But the fact of the matter is that with time running out for delivery of the new services, we’re hearing from investors large and small that factors outside Go-op’s control are making it impossible for them to commit to the investment that is required.

“There is now one last chance to make this happen in this decade: Go-op remains keen to hear from any investor that could form part of a consortium of keystone investors. But this opportunity is available for only a matter of weeks, after which – under the terms of the track access contract – the Office of Rail and Road will withdraw its support.”

When the Office of Rail and Road granted track access, a condition was that Go-op secure £2.6 million by May 2026.

Alex said, “This matters to a lot of people. At least one new station may be relying on these new services. 100,000 people would see the frequency of services at their local station double from two-hourly to hourly.

“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.”