A HERITAGE RAILWAY FOR THE PEOPLE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2018 :: RMTnews 26 Ever since British Rail closed the Minehead branch line in the 1960s under ‘Beeching’s Axe’, locals have been calling for the line to be re-opened right through from Taunton. Shortly after closure, a local railway association was established and one of the aims was to reopen a rail service to Taunton. However it became apparent that it would take some years to get the line fully operational as far as Bishops Lydiard, the first station out of Taunton on the Minehead branch line, let alone establish a commuter service through to Taunton. So the line ended up as a steam railway heritage line between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard, although the section of track linking it to the Great Western main line and Taunton remained in situ for the purposes of stock movements, occasional excursions and periodic freight trains bringing in stone for sea-defence work. The dream of many local people as well as railway staff - of linking the line to the national network by way of commuter services to Taunton and Bristol - never died, and a number of attempts to get things moving again were made over the years, but to no avail. Then in 2015 Minehead Chamber of Commerce Chairman Alex de Mendoza and myself got together to form the Minehead Rail Link Group (MRLG) and very quickly a number of local councillors became involved. The aim was to work with local authorities to see if ways could be found to extend some of Great Western Railway’s Cardiff/Bristol to Taunton services over the West Somerset heritage line to Minehead. MRLG became part of national rail promotional group Railfuture, which has been hugely influential in getting lines or stations reopened across the country. Contact was soon made with the West Somerset Railway, Great Western Railway and local authorities and informal and friendly meetings were held to establish lines of communication and exchange ideas, without any commitments being made at this stage, by any parties. Following considerable media coverage and support from local businesses and residents of West Somerset, the Minehead Rail Link Group grew and a robust management committee was formed to take the group forward. Sponsorship was secured from many local firms and a covered marketing stand was created to mount displays in commercial centres across the area. Leaflets were distributed across the district, bringing in yet more support. Train planning diagrams have been produced that prove there is capacity on most days to run at least seven GWR services off the main line through to Minehead, whilst still retaining capacity for a steam train service between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard, although it is accepted that there would have to be some adjustments to A HERITAGE RAILWAY FOR THE PEOPLE Retired RMT rep and Minehead Rail Link Group press officer David Latimer says it is time to re-open lost West Somerset rail routes The West Somerset Heritage Railway