New service proposal plus a connection for West Somerset

ASPIRANT train operator GO-OP has tabled a proposal for summer 2022 which would not only connect Swindon and Taunton with a more frequent service – their proposals extend to connecting Taunton with Bishop’s Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway.

GO-OP is a cooperative and a not-for-profit business owned by those who travel on its trains and work for it. Their proposal is for increased services serving Castle Cary, Frome and Melksham, as well as opening up rail journeys that are currently impractical, such as Taunton to Yeovil, and Frome to Swindon.

Network capacity

In addition, discussions between GO-OP and the

West Somerset Railway could lead to a scheduled daily service linking the national rail network at Taunton to the heritage railway at Bishops Lydeard for the first time in 50 years.

Discussions are at an early stage, but GO-OP says tests by Network Rail have established there is capacity on the network to introduce its services.

The next step will be a performance analysis to ensure there is no risk to the punctuality of other operators. Operations would be under open access.