Minehead Rail Link Group

[whole diary]

[Noggin]

I expect a few years of reviews, studies, and consultations, followed by a change of government with the new government re-doing the reviews, studies and consultations because the last lot did not do them properly.
Simply making use of an existing railway line is arguably too simple.

I suspect the problem is more that the Minehead is too far south to count, especially if Labour get in - wealthy and pampered enough already aren't we?

[broadgage]

I thought that Butlins was a favoured holiday destination for the less well off.
As a resident of Minehead, I would not consider the area to be pampered or well off.
Average living standards could be improved by a decent all year round train service as this would facilitate employment without driving.

[grahame]

From Somerset Live

Efforts to improve Somerset's rail services have hit a snag after the government refused to fund better connections to the county's main heritage line. The West Somerset Railway (WSR) runs between Bishop's Lydeard, a few miles outside Taunton, and Minehead via numerous small stations in west Somerset, including the coastal town of Watchet and the villages of Blue Anchor, Dunster and Williton.

There have been numerous attempts to reconnect the heritage services with mainline Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) services at Taunton, including the trial of a connecting service between Taunton and Bishop's Lydeard in the summer of 2019. Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway PLC jointly submitted a strategic outline business case (SOBC) to the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) in November 2024, asking for £137,000 to developer proposals for reopening the link between Taunton and Bishop's Lydeard.

[Witham Bobby]

From Somerset Live

Efforts to improve Somerset's rail services have hit a snag after the government refused to fund better connections to the county's main heritage line.

 [SNIP]

in the summer of 2019. Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway PLC jointly submitted a strategic outline business case (SOBC) to the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) in November 2024, asking for £137,000 to developer proposals for reopening the link between Taunton and Bishop's Lydeard.

£137,000 would hardly register on the amount of money the railway expends on consultations of all sorts.  This seems more like trying to head something off, preventing momentum, rather than actual stinginess over the cost of a report

[Phantom]

From Somerset Live

Efforts to improve Somerset's rail services have hit a snag after the government refused to fund better connections to the county's main heritage line.

 [SNIP]

in the summer of 2019. Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway PLC jointly submitted a strategic outline business case (SOBC) to the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) in November 2024, asking for £137,000 to developer proposals for reopening the link between Taunton and Bishop's Lydeard.

£137,000 would hardly register on the amount of money the railway expends on consultations of all sorts.  This seems more like trying to head something off, preventing momentum, rather than actual stinginess over the cost of a report

That was my thoughts too, in the scheme of things £137k is not really that large an amount.
I would be surprised if that could not be raised via a number of different ways so suspect there is more to this than the actual amount

[TonyK]

Don't forget that the £137,000 is just to develop a process to find out how much it would cost to reopen the link.

[grahame]

Now here's an idea - have a read.  It can be done if the will is there!

A train service, combining local travel, enthusiast and tourist.

https://grahamellis.uk/blog1634.html