First steps towards upgrading the local rail network for the fast-growing area of Bath, Western Wiltshire and Mendip
Since the late 1990s the towns of Western Wiltshire have been growing. Housing estate after housing estate has been built on the fields surrounding these towns. The result is a series of modest town centres with ring upon ring of suburbs, and these are still expanding. With them has come traffic, new roads and development oriented around the car. The area is being urbanised so fast that now Connected Cities, Transport for New Homes and Amey rail have put forward a new ‘metro’ for this area, based on existing rail infrastructure, with improvements.
The city of Bath and the related towns of Western Wiltshire and Frome are now home to nearly 350,000 people. Many more will arrive as tens of thousands of new homes are built – the new government ‘housing algorithm’ targets rural areas and Wiltshire needs to build the equivalent of a town the size of Chippenham to reach its ten-year target of 3,500 new homes a year.
Meanwhile public transport falls far short of what would be expected for an area with such a large population. Even though the towns are only a few miles apart from each other, travel across the area is often a challenge if you don’t drive. Bath is trying to limit traffic in the city, which adds another dimension to the growth of these car-based town that are expanding around it.
Why a ‘metro’? Currently the trains serving Western Wiltshire and Frome tend to be long distance (coming and going from Weymouth, Portsmouth Harbour or South Wales) and therefore subject to delays and also over-crowding as local people squeeze in with passengers travelling much further. The Metro would involve local trains for local people, and trains that stopped at new stations too, these all part of Amey’s concept to revolutionise rail travel in this area.
Too far-fetched? Too expensive? A conference on the 27th March 2025 in Chippenham organised by Connected Cities and Transport for New Homes involved a presentation by Nathan Sealey, Head of Systems Engineering at Amey rail. With much of the railway infrastructure already in place he explained, only relatively minor improvements such as platform extensions and passing loops are needed, with some work around Thingley Junction near Chippenham. Trains would be ‘stabled’ overnight at Westbury which has ample sidings for the purpose.
New stations at the White Horse Business Park, Holt, Staverton and Hilperton, Wiltshire College at Lackham and Lacock, Corsham, and Bathampton, would then complete the picture. How much would all this cost? The upgrade of the current railway with platform extensions and passing loops was suggested to be in the region of £30-50 million. New stations would be in addition.
Compared to road-building – for example a Melksham bypass at up to £300 million – this is surely very good value. However we are concerned that, despite an idea which would be considered mainstream in so many other parts of Europe and which would be properly integrated with opportunities for the regeneration of towns and build-out of brownfield sites, here it’s an entirely different matter. In England there will be a whole series of financial and planning blocks to overcome. Despite these blocks we will continue to work with Amey to make the vision a reality.