Pressure group calls to reopen rail link

A rail pressure group is calling on Herefordshire and other authorities to work together on making the case for a reopened Hereford/Ross-on-Wye/Gloucester railway link.

The British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) claim the link, which closed in the 1960s, is "strategic and brimming with potential".

They believe it offers wider connections northwards to Shrewsbury, and connections to Reading and London to the east.

As well as enabling people to get to work or college and to travel more, it would also cut traffic congestion and free up parking spaces, the group says.

BRTA chief executive, Richard Pill, said: "There is growing demand for rail services again and for that to happen meaningfully, you need the tracks for more trains."

Pill said recently reopened rail lines elsewhere in the country "have far exceeded usage expectation in both urban and rural locations".

"If the government can find millions of pounds for new roads, it is about priorities to switch some of that funding to the rail alternative," he added.

The chief executive urged residents to ask their local MPs "to seek all tiers of government support" for the scheme.

The proposal was given local impetus earlier this year when Ross ward members Louis Stark and Ed O'Driscoll asked fellow councillors to back a feasibility study into the idea.

Having passed narrowly, the motion calls on officers to report back with a study in 12 months.

Stark confirmed that a December meeting of the council's environment and sustainability committee, which he chairs, will look at the county's wider rail strategy, currently under development.

"Part of our intention will be to explore what is happening on the feasibility study and to ensure it is included in the rail strategy going forward," he said.

Meanwhile in late July, a BTRA meeting in Gloucester heard that "some relocation packages may be needed and engineering solutions found" for the proposed Hereford line.

It also discussed the viability of revived rail connections to Cirencester and between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon, and the doubling of all the Hereford-Worcester-Oxford line.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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