Swindon & Wiltshire News
Plans for new ‘metro’ for Bath and Wiltshire unveiled
Plans for a new mass transit system connecting Bath with Wiltshire market towns has been unveiled.
Connected Cities says that for between £20 and £30 million a metro-style system could connect ‘hub towns’ like Chippenham Trowbridge with Bath.
The Bath and Wiltshire Metro area, says the group, is 350,000 – the size of a city. With new housing, it will grow to 400,000. Yet it is underserved by public transport.
Connected Cities says its plan is affordable because it could use existing infrastructure, including platform reinstatement at Westbury and Chippenham.
Investment would enable two trains per hour in each direction through Melksham and create a path for new stations in Corsham and Devizes.
Improvements to rail services through Melksham could be delivered as early as next year.
New train operating company Go-op has been given the green light to operate new stopping services between Taunton and Swindon by the Office of Rail and Road regulator, pending final investment for level crossing upgrades.
Work to support infrastructure development has also begun, with a major study on platform reinstatement at Westbury set to be complete by the end of the year.
Providing an additional platform in Westbury is critical to enabling more frequent services and supporting the case for a new station at Devizes.
And new stations on existing lines could be created at Christian Malford, Corsham, Wiltshire College & Lackham , Holt, Staverton, and White Horse Business Park.
Funding options under consideration include developer contributions via land value uplift – similar to the model used for the Northumberland Line – and support from the National Wealth Fund.
A multidisciplinary planning workshop is scheduled for September 11 with the view of pushing the project forward to a strategic outline business case.
Melksham and Devizes MP Brian Mathew, who recently hosted a stakeholder meeting with Wiltshire Council and
industry experts, said: “This is the start of something transformative for Wiltshire.
“Where good transport leads, housing and economic opportunity will follow.
“We all know that public transport, and in particular the rail service, is not at the level we’d like in Wiltshire and I am a committed to working hard to try to improve this.”
Pictured: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham
