Glastonbury and Somerton MP calls for railway project meeting

In her first week back in Parliament, Sarah Dyke, the Liberal Democrat MP for the new constituency, wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport to ask for a meeting to discuss projects for the proposed railway station.

The Langport Transport Group, supported by its stakeholders, including Somerset Council, submitted a strategic outline case (SOC) to the Department for Transport in February 2022 but has received no update on the proposal since July of that year.

The towns of Langport and Somerton were originally served by trains on the Taunton to Castle Cary line, but their stations were closed as part of the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

The stretch of track is now the longest without a station between London and Cornwall.

In the last Parliament, Sarah Dyke, who was then MP for Somerton and Frome, repeatedly pushed for progress on the proposed station, including in her first Prime Minister’s Question.

Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, said: “I know how much this train station matters to the people of Langport and Somerton.

“In my final week in Parliament in May, I presented a petition in the House of Commons calling for the Department for Transport to provide an urgent update to the Langport Transport Group and move the proposed station forward.

“Then, as soon as I was back in Westminster, I made it a priority to get in touch with the Secretary of State for Transport and request a meeting.

“A new station for the Somerset Levels would give more than 50,000 people easy access to the rail network, provide a much-needed boost to the local economy, and reduce our reliance on cars.

"I’m committed to doing everything I can to make the proposed station a reality and I’m continuing to campaign on this issue.

“People in the Langport and Somerton area deserve an update from the new government and I hope to meet with the Secretary of State for Transport very soon to discuss the project with her.”