The prospect of a new railway station in rural Somerset remains alive, despite recent government funding cuts, Somerset Council has confirmed. Plans to establish a station serving the rapidly growing towns of Somerton and Langport faced a setback following the cancellation of the Restoring Your Railway Fund by Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP in July 2024.
In response, Somerset Council conducted a public consultation on its new local transport plan, outlining ambitious goals to enhance bus and rail services, as well as walking and cycling infrastructure across the county.
Councillor Henry Hobhouse, representing Castle Cary and neighboring villages, has called on the council to intensify efforts to deliver the new station. Citing increasing demand at Castle Cary station — whose car park has doubled and passenger numbers have surged — he emphasized the urgent need for a station in the 30-mile stretch between Taunton and Castle Cary that currently lacks rail infrastructure.
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“Langport and Somerton were originally served by stations on the Taunton to Castle Cary line before they were closed in the 1960s during the Beeching cuts,” explained Councillor Hobhouse at the Council’s Climate and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting in Taunton on November 19.
Funding for a feasibility study, known as the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), was secured in May 2021. This initiative was supported by South Somerset District Council, local parish councils, and supplemented by a £50,000 grant from central government. The SOBC was compiled by the Langport Transport Group and submitted to the Department for Transport in February 2022.
After nearly two and a half years without feedback from a succession of Conservative administrations, the incoming Labour government ultimately scrapped the Restoring Your Railway Fund, further complicating progress.
Matthew Prince, Somerset Council’s transport policy officer, stated that the council is now developing an integrated connectivity plan alongside its existing local transport plan. This strategy aims to encourage greater use of current railway stations while advocating for new stations to expand access.
“We currently have one of the lowest numbers of stations in the country—around seven or eight if you count the new station at Wellington,” Prince explained. “It’s not easy to navigate Network Rail’s processes to build more stations, but this project remains firmly on our horizon. The integrated plan will help us identify infrastructure needs over the next 25 to 30 years so we can make a strong case to government.”
The local transport plan is scheduled for detailed discussion at the council’s Planning and Transport Policy Executive Sub-Committee on December 10 before its final approval by the full council on December 17.
David Northey of the Langport Transport Group reported positive engagement with the council. “Our recent meeting was well received, sparking many questions,” he said. “We shared presentations from our September conference outlining funding options, service plans, and a broader ‘Network Somerset’ concept—similar to the successful ‘Devon Metro’ initiative featuring new stations in Wellington and Cullompton.”
The ‘Network Somerset’ vision would optimize the existing rail network to better connect towns like Frome, Yeovil, Taunton, and Bridgwater, rather than relying on fragmented services. This approach could unlock new opportunities for a station serving Somerton and Langport while improving the utilization of current rail services.