Frome Town Council, led by resilience manager, Anna Francis and cllr Sheila Gore, are lobbying Somerset for a better railway service.
Anna recently attended Somerset County Council’s rail workshop for regional directors in Taunton. She was there to highlight the need for better rail services and links in Frome and the wider area. Somerset only has nine stations and Frome is the only town with a station in Mendip.
In ten years, usage at Frome Railway Station increased by 70%, with minimal increases in services, showing there is growing demand for more services, says Anna. She highlighted the large gaps in provision, for example, trains to Westbury leaving at either 8:16 or 10:24 outwards and often two hour gaps between trains including the peak times of 3:30 and 5:30pm.
Improvements to the aesthetics at the station were also highlighted and Anna will work with Network Rail to try to secure access to the far side platform.
The workshop is being fed in to Somerset’s Passenger Transport Strategy. Participants highlighted the need for the strategy to link in with planned development, to explore wider transport needs to ensure that rail can meet these and to set out a more ambitious vision for 2050.
Councillor Sheila Gore added, “Ensuring better rail links is vital to enable people to access employment, training and leisure without a car. There is a clear demand and growing need for better services at Frome and increasing these services is key to reducing congestion and increasing access. We hope to work proactively with GWR, Southern Rail and Somerset to ensure that additional links and services are implemented.”
If you would like to see more regarding the consultation please go to www.somersetconsults.org.uk/consult.ti/ptstrategy/consultationHome
