The Office for Rail and Road has approved new train services between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare.
It is expected that the train services, which will be operated by Go-op, could start from the end of 2025.
Return weekday and weekend services will run between Taunton and Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Westbury (Wilts), Taunton and Swindon (Wilts), and between Frome and Westbury.
Go-op will compete with Great Western Railway but they must provide evidence of finance to start operations, funding for crossing enhancements as well as suitable rolling stock being secured.
As part of the decision, the ORR says that services must start no later than December 2026.
“Our decision gives Go-op the opportunity to bring the first co-operatively owned train service and the first regional open access service in the UK. We think this novel proposal can benefit passengers across Somerset and Wiltshire.“We will closely monitor Go-op’s progress towards meeting the financial and rolling stock requirements that are needed before it can bring the services into operation.”
Martin Jones, Deputy Director, Access, Licensing & International
Responses
I think it should be given the go ahead. Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset that do need better train services and places like Trowbridge, Frome, Bath, Yeovil, Salisbury, Swindon, Chippenham and Westbury to be connected by rail services.
I think they should maybe have services going to Newbury as that would allow them to be able to compete with GWR greatly
If Goop are going into Taunton why not connect with the WSR as well!
Reading their website they actually state that they are hoping to run services to Bishops Lydeard eventually
If Goop will be using HST Castle sets on the new services I shall be very keen to use them
Other reports I’ve seen suggest they are looking at class 153s, possibly running doubled up.
Perhaps TfW should get rid of the Class 153 DMUs since they want new trains and to cascade the Class 153 to the West of England and for Coop to inherit some of them.
Or maybe Goop to inherit the Class 222s from East Midlands Railway once the Class 810 Aurora IETs have entered service. Or the Class 180 Adelentes.
Good for them long been time to give
FGW a wake up call!!
You mean Great Western Railway.
If Go-Op are prepared to do this it increases the argument to have Halts at Langport and Somerton as both towns are now twice the size they were when they lost their stations.
Goop? That’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s crackpot lifestyle brand isn’t it? Deeply worrying.
No, apparently this is a different Goop: ‘A passenger and worker co-operative preparing open access rail services for Somerset and Wiltshire’
And today the labour government announced all franchises would be returned to the state by 2027.
At the same time they are negotiating with private companies to run new services on the rail network.
Talk about manipulation.
Do they know what they saying or do the rely on people indifference and ignorance.
They say one thing and do another. They give the impression of bringing back a unified rail network run by the state when they have zero intention of delivering that promise
It is the ORR who have negotiated this Open Access operation from well before the last election so nothing to do with the Labour government.
But why is the ORR continuing the negotiations when the government have categorically stated that all franchises will be nationalised? Their actions are effectively encouraging Go-op to spend money setting up financing deals and planning services and timetables that will, in short order, be absorbed into Great British Rail (or whatever the government eventually calls the newly nationalised organisation).
Open access operators are not franchised operators. I’ve seen nothing to suggest they are planning to bring Hull Trains, Grand Central or Lumo into the nationalised operations – if they are going to let them continue running as OOAs then they could allow new OOAs to come on-stream as well. (Personally, I’m not convinced there is any place for OOAs, but that is a different argument)
I think that is quite predictable the the Labour government will never deliver anything other than a reduced standard of living for pensioners like me.
Surely you cannot have noticed that this is a government of hopeless chancers who do not have clue as to what they are doing. They cannot be truthful about anything, they have a useless chancellor, a prime minister who is an embarrassment and a team of clowns as ministers.
What we need is the previous governments ‘Restoring Your Railway priciples.
“They cannot be truthful about anything, they have a useless chancellor, a prime minister who is an embarrassment and a team of clowns as ministers.”
Sums up the last few governments very nicely indeed, especially the truth bit!
Meanwhile, I understand that Open Access will operate alongside GBR. If so could be the model that kicked off just before privatisation which killed it. Think there were successes – Virgins cheap alternatives from the North East to London? Great if innovators can develop a few niche markets without ‘sinking the boat’.