Kemble to Swindon rail line could be back on track (From Swindon Advertiser)

Kemble to Swindon rail line could be back on track

4:27pm Saturday 24th January 2009 in News By Kevin Burchall

A SECOND railway line between Swindon and Kemble could yet be built, despite the rail regulator rejecting the plan last year.

MPs in Gloucestershire say improved rail links between the county and London have received support from the Government.

If the work goes ahead it will see £42m being spent on the new rail line. Trains from Gloucestershire currently travel along a single stretch of track spanning 12 miles between Kemble and Swindon.

If approved, the new and improved line could be opened in two years’ time.

Martin Horwood, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham, who was among a group of MPs who recently met the transport minister, said: “The first step is quite a major engineering study which will several million pounds, but we hope the government will make a considerable contribution to get that rolling.”

Last year campaigners, including the group Railfuture Severnside, fought long and hard for the Government to back the restoration of the popular train line only for the Government’s Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) to leave it out of its five-year investment plans.