Funding bid for heritage railway link rejected

Efforts to connect a heritage railway with mainline services have hit a snag after the government refused to fund the project.

The West Somerset Railway (WSR) runs between Bishop's Lydeard, a few miles outside Taunton, and Minehead via numerous small stations in west Somerset.

Somerset Council and West Somerset Railway had submitted a business case asking for £137,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT) to connect the line with mainline great Western Railway services at Taunton.

The department has now announced it will not be providing funding for the project, but will hold discussions with the council to see what improvements can be made locally.