It's 120 years since the opening on Lacock Halt on the (then) double track line from Chippenham through Melksham to Holt Junction ... onwards to Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge, and with a change at Holt for Devizes.   The line is now single, the direct chord to Bradford-on-Avon gone, and the line to Devizes closed in 1966 and the line is now largely lost into fields.   Lacock and Melksham Stations closed in 1966 too but Melksham re-opened in 1985.  Is there a case for the re-opening of a station at Lacock?

Twenty years ago, when I joined the  campaign for a sensible train service at Melksham, the idea of re-opening Lacock would have been seen as proof of my madness.  These days, I am not so sure.

Lacock is a historic "National Trust" village and heaven forbid anyone or anything that disturbs the heritage.  However, the station site and railway line is about a mile from the core of the village, and located near to an area of housing in which car ownership and availability is far from universal, and right beside a factory where staff are bussed in every day from - err - places like Chippenham Station.    Wiltshire needs more housing and when such is built, a key issue is infrastructure - access to it, and in some cases what better start is there than a railway line and station?  The Bath and Wiltshire Metro suggests Lacock as a possible station site, and with trains calling there every half hour I can foresee a future for a busting community there as part of a connected and sustainable city.  No longer madness.