Radstock to Frome Railway Project

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Ever wondered why there isnt a train service from Radstock up through the Melksham line? Have a look at the link below.
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/committee_papers/PTandE/990128/31radsto.htm

Quotes :

"2.4 That discussions be held with relevant Train Operating Companies to identify the potential for providing passenger services to Radstock, taking account of (a) the findings of the W S Atkins and Railway Consultancy studies carried out on behalf of the Frome/Radstock Rail Steering Group; (b) the steps needed to secure potential OPRAF support; (c) the forthcoming Rail Development Partnership scheme; and (d) the recent moves to establish the `Brunel Link' community railway partnership between Frome and Swindon;"

"5.3 On the issue of the potential demand for rail services the WS Atkins report concluded that a heritage railway could attract some 40,000 visitors a year, increasing in the longer term if the link to Frome is achieved. Assessing the potential demand for conventional passenger service, WS Atkins took a much more pessimistic figure that that put forward by The Railway Consultancy. Both identified the potential for achieving a single return journey between Radstock and Swindon via Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham. The enhancement of this line is currently being promoted by local communities as the Brunel Link. Whilst The Railway Consultancy took a positive view of its potential, WS Atkins concluded that it is unlikely to be an attractive service and believed that the provision of additional services to serve Radstock would require a substantial operating subsidy that would have to be financed by the local authorities or OPRAF."

"5.4 WS Atkins did not come to a firm conclusion on the potential for rail freight but stressed that to be viable services would have to attract a key bulk customer to form a core business. The BOCM Pauls animal feedmill was identified as a possible customer of this kind."

The North Somerset Railway have so far failed either to provide a heritage or commuter passenger service on the Radstock line (link below.)
http://www.northsomersetrailway.com/index.php

An attempt by a local company to run freight trains out of Radstock did nearly succeed in 2002 - 2003 , but was scrapped due to the withdrawal of rail freight grant funding. A container train had to be left in storage at Wokingham as a result.

However , with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) now spraying rail freight grants around like confetti......(link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2478.msg5539#msg5539

Maybe they will have another go.

[Lee]

Members of Radstock Action Group (RAG^▸ (Radstock Action Group)) will stage a candlelit protest march in support of the town's railway land , wildlife and heritage today (22/11/2007.) The march will start from the Victoria Hall at 5.45pm and protestors plan to walk to the former railway land , which has been earmarked for regeneration , holding candles and torches (link below.)
http://thisissomerset.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=147472&command=displayContent&sourceNode=242195&contentPK=19035561&folderPk=113662&pNodeId=251478

[12hoursunday]

It will be a flipping long way to Melksham from Radstock. Did you mean to say Frome?

[Lee]

The march is from Victoria Hall in Radstock to the former railway land in Radstock.

[cheesywotsit]

Radstock regeneration, what a joke that is.  The place needs more than a few shops
or a train station to stop it being what it is.

The cycle path gets a fair bit of use now.

It is nice down there, all overgrown (until they got the diggers in) and no doubt
some rare toads or summit..........  I used to walk down the train lines some 20
years ago from school, you didnt need to fear any trains, just the odd guy in the
train work sheds... I'd love it to be something more but it will never happen for money
reasons and also the mentality of the place....  such a shame.

[Lee]

There are signs of a renewed push (link below.)
http://thisissomerset.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=147472&command=displayContent&sourceNode=243687&home=yes&more_nodeId1=242222&contentPK=19429081

[Graz]

It's a shame the Radstock line doesn't lead into Frome station, something I didn't realise until today. According to this BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) page, the current proposal is to have a new station built where the trains will terminate to/from Radstock. Soon after it is hoped they will go to Westbury and beyond. I feel that the sooner a mainline connection is established, the better, because a detatched railway could turn away all but local travellers.

This quote is interesting...

Then the next step would be to restore Frome Station (including Hannaford’s splendid Brunel-style overall roof) in a form that would allow trains from Radstock to run directly into it, and expand the service from there.

I'd be interested to see how that would happen, unless they extend the platform by a few hundred metres!

[Lee]

Work is set to begin on a ^30 million, 210-home redevelopment of former railway land in central Radstock.The owner of the land, Norton Radstock Regeneration Company (NRR), has been given the green light to proceed with the scheme to build on the 18-acre site which sprawls outwards from the town centre (link below.)
http://thisissomerset.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=147472&command=displayContent&sourceNode=242195&contentPK=20300752&folderPk=113662&pNodeId=251478

Also planned are commercial buildings, community space, a new car park to serve the town centre and bus waiting areas.

The developers said an old railway building, known as the Brunel Shed, will be preserved and refurbished for heritage and community use, and 48 per cent of the site will be retained for wildlife and ecology purposes.

Partial diversion of the A362 Frome Road to serve the site is also planned.

While the plan has been welcomed by many people, conservationists and wildlife groups claim the development will harm the environment.

Norton Radstock Town Council has also objected, saying the scheme will overwhelm the town with extra traffic and new buildings.

One long-standing critic of the scheme is Deborah Porter, the conservation officer for Cam Valley Wildlife Group.

She said the planners' decision has opened the way for a legal challenge to B &NES' decision last year, which granted officers authority to give outline planning consent.

Ms Porter intends to push for a judicial review of that decision.

[Lee]

Radstock Action Group is holding an exhibition at Radstock Methodist Church Hall on Saturday, from 9.30am to noon (link below.)
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Campaigners-exhibition-railway-land/article-335124-detail/article.html

Spokeswoman Amanda Leon said the exhibition was being held so that people could put forward their ideas for Radstock's regeneration and find out more about RAG^▸ (Radstock Action Group)'s campaign. Plans for the railway land will also be on show, she said.

[Lee]

Saturday's event resulted in three hours of non-stop discussion about the plans by campaigners and exhibition visitors (link below.)
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Display-NRR-plans-poses-new-queries-developers/article-351009-detail/article.html

Questions were raised about the viability of a railway link and about the quality of affordable housing, and plans for the regeneration scheme were also deemed by some visitors as unviable.

Radstock Action Group plans to organise another public meeting soon, for debate and formulation of more ideas for the future of Radstock.

[Lee]

An online petition has been launched to get Bath and North East Somerset Council to back reopening of the railway line linking Radstock and Frome (link below.)
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Online-vote-reopen-railway/article-416485-detail/article.html

The land through which the line ran is now scheduled for redevelopment under the Radstock regeneration plan, and Sustrans has constructed a cycle track and walkway along the original route of the railway track.

There have been several campaigns to get the line reopened, but they were dealt a blow in 2003 when the Norton-Radstock Regeneration board voted not to safeguard the land for a railway link in its own masterplan for the land.

Plans for the first phase of a 210-home development are expected to be finalised soon by B&NES Council and the regeneration company.

The petition calls on B&NES to support a reopened line because it would provide regeneration for Radstock in the form of visitors and facilities for commuting.

George Bailey, director of the North Somerset Railway Company and secretary of the North Somerset Railway Trust, is appealing to anyone who supports revival of the railway line to sign the petition on the North Somerset Railway website (link below.)
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/restoration-of-frome-radstock-rail-link.html

They have pointed out that much of the track is still in place and can be re-used once it has been overhauled.

However, the regeneration board has said the railway link would not bring enough significant economic benefit to the area to outweigh the extra investment needed to make it a reality.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Rail link petition collects 2,000 signatures

More than 2,000 people have so far signed a petition calling for the reopening of the railway line between Radstock and Frome.

The petition was launched online a month ago and has been hailed as a massive success by Radstock Action Group (RAG^▸ (Radstock Action Group)), a residents' organisation which is campaigning on behalf of the North Somerset Railway Company and North Somerset Railway Trust, the groups behind the petition.

RAG spokeswoman Amanda Leon said: "We are delighted the petition to reinstate the rail link has more than 2,000 signatures and has been officially adopted as a campaign by Railfuture, an independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight."

See http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Rail-link-petition-collects-2-000-signatures/article-484909-detail/article.html

[Graz]

I've signed

[Wideload]

This is good news, there is/was a lot of potential for Radstock in seeing this line re-open.  Without appearing to do a hatchet job on anyone who has worked long and hard to see the line reopen I have to say that the biggest obstacle it faced previously was in fighting between various Egos involved with the project.  If they could be put aside then the real issues such as the land required to mitigate the sharp drop into Radstock town centre and councillor opposition could be reasonably addressed.  There is also the relationship/issue with Sustrans who bought the land cheap ( for a ^1 I believe but can not confirm ).  They then laid their cycle path in such a way that further impeded any possibility of opening the train line.  Given that the hard bit of interfacing with NR^» (Network Rail - home page) infrastructure is complete with Quarry traffic already using the line the possibilites remain likeley that it could open but probaably wont for the reasons listed (in very general terms I accept) above.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hello, oldtimer, and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!