Baschurch railway station to reopen in 2012?
Thursday 6th January 2011, 1:05PM GMT.
Campaigners behind ambitious plans to reopen a once-thriving north Shropshire railway station, which closed 50 years ago, hope to see it completed by the end of 2012.
They hope Baschurch Railway Station, which closed in 1960, will be brought back to life to serve the rapidly growing population in the area.
A new rail group will be formed by Shropshire Council and campaigners hope the scheme will take a major step forward.
Councillor Mansel Williams, of Shropshire Council, said: “The rail group will be made up of representatives from Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to begin with and then maybe extend to Herefordshire and Cheshire further down the line.
“The people behind the reopening of Baschurch station have put together a really strong case.”
Steve Boulding, spokes- man for the Baschurch Station Group, said: “This is a very important project which we really want to start pushing ahead with.
“We are trying to make it a number one priority for rail schemes across the county and are seeking all parties concerned to agree that it should go ahead.
“If we can get everybody to agree by the end of 2011, it should only take up to a year for it to be complete, so we are looking at the end of 2012.”
A feasibility study carried out more than two years ago, as part of a wider probe into use of the Shrewsbury to Chester line, found there was no viable business case for opening a station at Baschurch.
But since then, the Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company has restored the county’s direct rail link with London, meaning direct services now pass through Baschurch on a daily basis.
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I knew Baschurch 20-odd years ago and I bet it’s grown since. It’s utterly potty to deny it a railway station.
However it’s within the context that the country that invented mass rail travel should now – at the decision-making level – be so uninterested in it.
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Don’t hold your breath.
The money is not there for these flights of fancy.
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This would be fantastic if it could get up and running; particularly for Walford College I would of thought!!!
They spend a fair bit of money on providing buses from various parts of Shropshire to shuttle in the students. I used to go there and they sent a coach to the Shrewsbury Bus Station to collect the Shrewsbury students.
To be able to just pop on the train and then walk across the fields to College would be great!
Are Walford College helping with any funding? Might be worth approaching if not.
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If we are to have any hope of slowing down this planets destruction, this is the sort of project that should be prioritised.
It ticks lots of boxes.
Or shall we just keep driving and stick our heads in the sand?
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