West Somerset: a “relatively easy win”

Andrew Mourant reports on the growing optimism for reopening to passenger services the rail link between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard.

In this article:

• The campaign to restore the Taunton-Bishops Lydeard rail link is progressing, with hopes it avoids bureaucratic delays.
• Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway submitted a strategic business case, emphasizing economic and infrastructure feasibility.
• If approved, trains could run within 12-18 months, boosting tourism and transport while aiding the region’s economic sustainability.

Progress at last (at least, all parties involved hope so) in the long-running campaign to restore the rail link between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard.

If the government is serious about encouraging local growth, this scheme ought to be relatively uncomplicated, providing it doesn’t become snagged by red tape.

Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway (which runs the 25-mile steam heritage line linking Bishops Lydeard with Minehead) have driven the strategic outline business case (SOBC) that was submitted in November 2024.

The idea has bubbled away for years, although it suffered a blow in 2021 when a plea for government support under the now-scrapped Restoring Your Railway fund was rejected. But it was not enough to sink the plan, which has few of the environmental and infrastructure impediments that have plagued, for example, plans to restore the Bristol to Portishead line.

The SOBC, developed over two and a half years, has been marshalled by Steve Williams, who chaired the project board and wrote much of the document sent recently to Rail Minister Lord Hendy. External consultants helped make the economic case; other experts to refine the infrastructure and technology requirements.

Williams believes reopening this stretch of line ought to be “a relatively easy win”. He points out that trains carrying spent ballast have been running on part of it (from Fairwater Yard to Norton Fitzwarren, although these ceased recently), and that shuttle services piloted in 2019 from Taunton to Bishops Lydeard proved “extremely successful”.

However, that was before COVID, which among other things left Great Western Railway short of rolling stock and drivers, halted the momentum.

The main infrastructure improvements along the two and a half miles between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren relate to aspects such as fencing, structure enhancements, and rail upgrading.

Extra car parking will also be required, dependent on how much additional land is available. The assumption is that current capacity will probably need to be doubled.

The Taunton suburbs are filling up with housing estates, as Somerset’s county town continues to grow. If Labour’s housing policy comes to fruition, this trend can only continue - at the risk of the A358 becoming ever more choked by traffic.

The attraction for the West Somerset Railway is clear. Enthusiasts could arrive in Bishops Lydeard and switch to steam without needing a bus shuttle service for the six-mile trip from Taunton.

Bishops Lydeard station dates from March 1862 when the WSR opened (then operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, B&ER), running from Norton Junction to Watchet. In June 1936 the line was doubled between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren.

But in March 1970 the signal box closed and the route through to Williton operated as a single track. Bishops Lydeard station, along with the entire line, closed on January 4 1971.

After the line and trackbed were purchased by the former Somerset County Council, it became leased by WSR as a heritage railway. WSR revived the line from its western end, starting at Minehead and extending to Bishops Lydeard in June 1979.

Plans to reconnect with Taunton surfaced a few years ago, as part of open access company Go-op’s project to create direct services between Swindon and Taunton.

However, the company pulled back from building in the Bishops Lydeard link, as it felt the cost was too high. Nor was it a central part of Go-op’s mission.

That said, Go-op remains keen to explore future possibilities once its operation beds in - it expects Swindon-Taunton trains (approved by the Office of Rail and Road in November 2024) to start running at the end of 2025.

“As a licensed operator we look forward to engaging with WSR,” says vice-chairman Alex Lawrie.

“However, the infrastructure constraints are quite significant. With Somerset Council and GWR exploring possibilities, we may find a plan emerging that we need to fit into, as opposed to us expecting everyone to take up our ideas.”

Part of Go-op’s original plan was for daily maintenance and overnight stabling of rolling stock to be carried out at Norton Fitzwarren sidings, owned by WSR. That’s since been abandoned, with Go-op looking to carry out light maintenance at a siding at Thingley Junction (near Chippenham) using mobile contractors, alongside periodic heavy maintenance (possibly in Wales). The costs of restoring the link have been quoted at £6 million, but Williams expects the bill to be “significantly less” - although he wouldn’t elaborate “because this is still commercial in confidence information”.

He adds: “The revenue model will be finalised in the final business case (FBC). We expect the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) to be around 1:1.9.”

There’s cause to hope that completing the work (providing it gains Department for Transport approval) may be less of a grind than finishing other comparable projects.

“Because the vast majority of preparation work is on the WSR itself, and not Network Rail, if funding and procurement together with subsequent project management go to plan, there’s no reason why trains couldn’t start running within 12 to 18 months of FBC approval,” says Williams.

Projected passenger numbers are also being kept under wraps for reasons of commercial confidentiality - although it’s hard to imagine there would be any likely competitor to GWR, which is due to carry on running services in the region until 2028.

The value of GWR’s involvement, says Williams, lies in its “essential understanding of the commercial realities”.

GWR has been active in campaigns to revive other parts of the South West rail network - notably the Exeter to Okehampton line, where trains began running in November 2021, and reopening Cullompton and Wellington stations.

However, the operator had little to say to RAIL about how it sees its future relationship with West Somerset Railway and the prospects for demand.

“We had no input into the passenger modelling,” it says.

“We’ve supported WSR’s application, but our focus at the moment is on other committed schemes.”

At some stage, Go-op may need to be factored in.

“The ORR decision on the Go-op application is very recent - we’ll have to assess the implications when we get to FBC stage,” says Williams.

“The preferred model of an hourly service is the baseline objective, and currently GWR is in a position to deliver this, subject to rolling stock and train crew availability. “The SOBC phase 1 envisages a shuttle between Taunton and Bishops Lydeard. Future phases [which would need separate approval] suggested it may be possible to run through trains beyond Bishops Lydeard on a very limited basis, but only if they don’t interfere with running WSR as a heritage steam railway.

“West Somerset Railway plc will continue to be responsible for infrastructure between Norton Junction and Bishops Lydeard. Any subsequent services approved by future business case proposals would be direct from Taunton using GWR stock. Stopping patterns would need to be determined at a future date.”

Restoring the link is a big part of West Somerset Railway’s strategic thinking for the medium and long term.

“The aim from the outset has been to ensure that we can preserve WSR’s integrity and operations, while putting together the economic and commercial case to attract more visitors to West Somerset,” says Williams.

There would be no change to WSR’s operating model - scheduled services from the main line network would run at 25mph, according to the existing Light Railway Order.

“GWR has confirmed that this will still be competitive with current bus and car travel times into Taunton,” Williams adds.

West Somerset Railway’s losses for the year ending March 31 2024 amounted to £422,690, compared with £216,300 the previous year.

The company attributes most of this to an “exceptional item” - buying itself out of an obligation to maintain locomotive 53808, built at the Darlington Works of Robert Stephenson & Co in 1925, and which it has used for six years without hire fees.

In WSR’s annual report and accounts, independent auditor Alexandra Shore considered the losses, along with “continued uncertainty regarding its ability to generate sufficient cash to cover operational and capital expenditure … indicate a material uncertainty … that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

However, WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt says there had been encouraging signs in the year’s trading performance, which “exceeded expectations” with fare income increasing 9.4% and retail income up 22%.

Developing the main line link “could have very substantial benefits to the heritage railway and its long-term sustainability”, he says.

Government has been asked for £137,000 to take the rail link proposals forward to a full business case. At the time of writing, Williams was still waiting for DfT’s response to the SOBC.

“Our submission has been made at a time when they’re undertaking a strategic review. We believe the SOBC is a comprehensive initial assessment of the case for reinstatement. The final case will drill down into a lot more detail around passenger numbers, costs and the service model.

“Social and well as economic benefits will be covered. We’ve gone into the community and educational issues and benefits. West Somerset is one of the most deprived areas in the country and therefore, along with the benefits to tourism and leisure services, this is a major driver for change.”