The Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, has added his voice to prospective Conservative MP Rebecca Pow’s campaign to reopen Wellington Station.
Endorsing the campaign he said, “I know how important good infrastructure is to our long term economic plan. Faster connections between towns and cities really do make a difference to local people. Taunton Deane has a great campaigner in Rebecca Pow. She is making the case for the Wellington in much the same way as she did for the work to be done on Taunton station.”
People in the Wellington area are now being asked for their views on improving local transport infrastructure: Rebecca Pow has sent surveys to residents to seek their input on the proposal to reopen the station.
Interest in the campaign was gathered earlier this year, since when substantial progress has been made by Rebecca in conjunction with Somerset and Devon County Councils, Mid Devon District Council, the Local Enterprise Partnership and Network Rail.
Now she hopes that results from a larger, more ambitious and detailed survey will help convince rail chiefs that Wellington station should be reopened as part of a Metro rail service between Exeter and Taunton, and which would also include a stop at Cullompton.
Speaking on her latest drive to improve local transport links, Rebecca said, “I want local residents to be able to have their say on this crucial issue. I would encourage those receiving the survey to voice their opinion on the possible reopening of Wellington station. I hope that the results will show that this is exactly the kind of investment in local infrastructure that people want. With new housing developments underway and other proposals such as the Jurston Farm development causing concerns over increased traffic and congestion now could definitely be the time to re-introduce some form of a new rail station.”