Further plans for Heritage Rail in Radstock were put forward to Town Councillors on Monday this week, with a presentation by local enthusiast, George Bailey, on behalf of the North Somerset Railway Company.
The team of five Directors, who have experience within the industry, particularly Network Rail and First, say they have enough money behind them for Rail Paths Limited and Sustrans to 'take them seriously'.
The aim is to reintroduce, firstly as Heritage Rail, an operation between Radstock and Frome, providing a platform for the reintroduction of a community partnership passenger railway, offering journey opportunities to the national passenger network. But the group will be asking for local opinion on whether or not this would be used. At the meeting, Mr Bailey said: "It is crucial that we hear from local people if they would use the railway – for example, we could put on an extra train if it was felt that the bus services were inadequate.
"But we need to be told what people want and to plan for it, otherwise we are just playing trains and that will be extremely expensive."
Proposed work would begin at Mells Road, estimated at the end of this year, depending on negotiations for land and access. By 2017, the group would hope to be in Radstock and Frome in the following two years. Mr Bailey added: "But we have to be realistic and adjust our plans as we go along. We have already purchased a DMU (diesel multiple unit) – there is a Youtube video of it in action through Kidderminster only a couple of months ago, so it is in fully working order. It was once used as a water cannon to clear leaves off the line."
Mr Bailey appealed to Radstock Town Council for its future support and backing and said that they would be working in partnership with the Mendip Traction and Rolling Stock Group to operate the service, which would be within national rail industry standards in a safe, controlled environment. The initial phase of the operation will be Mells Road to Mells, with preparatory work in the Radstock area to link up in 2017. Kilmersdon to Mells work is planned for 2016, with Radstock to Flowers Farm Bridge from 2017 and the entire route to Frome by 2019. Mr Bailey said that Radstock to Kilmersdon would be particularly difficult, because the railway line would need to be moved to the other side of the cyclepath, with a new cyclepath built.
The company also hope to be speaking with B&NES and Mendip District Councils as well as Frome and Radstock Town Council, to seek permission to build platforms and operate at various points.
Speaking to The Journal this week, Cate Le Grice-Mack, Chair of the Norton Radstock Regeneration Company, said: "We have always wanted light rail for leisure purposes in Radstock. It will be a very difficult process and we will continue to work closely with Radstock Town Council on all matters, despite the fact that some of the members have been vocally against our plans previously.
"This is all still in the early stages, as the railway would be included in Area 3, which still has to be agreed by B&NES Council. By the autumn, we hope to be looking at the environmental impact of the railway and will be having further discussions with Sustrans about how these ideas could work.
"We are in talks with the college about how we could involve them in future, including apprenticeship opportunities. Our plans for the Brunel Shed are to have a café, cycle repair stop and, hopefully, a ticket office for the railway."