As always the Somerset and Dorset Railway down at Midsomer Norton is innovative - the current buzz is around the petition lodged with number 10 to release funds to reopen the line as a vital transport link. Signatures after just three days are already 77. Just 250 and the government have to reply.
Wording is - The Somerset and Dorset Railway was, and will be again after Peak Oil, a vital sustainable transport link across Wessex. The government should release funds and simplify the planning and construction process to allow local people to build, own and operate the line in preparation for when our oil runs out.
Whilst the set-up at Midsomer Norton is currently an embryo heritage line, the constitution of the Trust includes the aim to reinstate real trains with a real purpose. In the medium term this means reinstating the most important sections of the line between Bath and Midsomer Norton in the north, and Blandford and Bournemouth in the south, with the route in between being protected for future rail use. Norton-Radstock has a population of around 25,000, far too large to not be rail served even today, let alone in the future. And the fact that a large town like Blandford is currently rail-less beggars belief!
Like the Waverley route in Scotland the S&D has refused to lie down and common sense is beginning to reassert itself. Closure of the S&D, like the Waverley, will be nothing but temporary!
To sign up please click here - and tell all your friends!
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