Town looks at railway link

8:45am Thursday 29th November 2007

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The prospect of Marlborough having its own railway link to the outside world was raised by town councillors on Monday night.

Marlborough, along with many other towns of its size, lost its railway station during the Beeching cuts of the early 1960s.

But now town councillors are raising the prospect of the line to Great Bedwyn being extended into the town.

Coun Anthony Sycamore brought up the subject during Monday night's meeting of the finance and policy committee.

He suggested that, should Kennet District Council cease to exist if a unitary authority is created in 2009, the town council could take over parking revenues in the town.

He said: "We could only do this if we could show the money would go into a sustainable transport policy.

"A railway link for Marlborough may be a pipe dream but there is no better time than now to look into it."

Coun Sycamore said that they could apply to Kennet for a grant for a feasibility study, but Coun Stewart Dobson said that could affect the town council's application for grant aid to renovate the town hall.

Coun Graham Francis said that in 1837 the town council approved a railway for the town and it was later built but closed in the 1960s.

He said he had been in touch with Network Rail and individual rail companies and they were not averse to the idea.

After the meeting he said: "Thames Trains have told me they are embarrassed that their main line service to Bedwyn ends in a field.

"They would much prefer to push it a few miles further on to Marlborough. It would have to be a nationally approved scheme and it would not be cheap. I mentioned the figure of £60 million at the council meeting, but that is just a rough estimate."

He added: "A rail station at Marlborough would reduce our carbon footprint because it would prevent all those car journeys to stations at Pewsey, Bedwyn and Swindon."

Councillors agreed to approach the Marlborough Community Area Strategic Partnership for funding for a feasibility study.