New Wellington railway station worth £15m could open by 2025

Monday, June 26, 2023

Somerset West and Taunton Council and Mid Devon District Council put together plans to reopen Wellington and Cullompton railway stations.

Both closed during the infamous Beeching cuts of the mid-1960s.

The final business case for Wellington is being assembled by Network Rail ahead of a decision by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Plans have now been submitted to Somerset Council for a major new housing development in Wellington which would provide the access road to the new railway station.

The new railway station is expected to cost £15m (funded entirely by the DfT), with councillors and rail experts believing that services could start calling there from May 2025, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

David Northey, a retired strategic planner with Network Rail, said at a public meeting held in May, that the station would initially be served by trains every two hours as part of the Great Western Railway service between Exeter St. David’s and Cardiff Central.

However, he said this likely increase to once per hour as demand grows.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has pledged as part of its Wellington Place Plan that it would “review potential for a park and ride scheme” near junction 26 of the M5, which could provide a vital link between the motorway, the railway station and the town centre.

A final decision on the housing proposals is expected to be taken by the end of the year.

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