A NEW Wellington railway station should start making a profit in its third year, Rail Minister Lord Hendy has been told.

Work on building the station on the edge of the Longforth Farm housing estate would by now have started but for the new Labour Government suspending its £15million funding.

Wellington’s MP Gideon Amos told Lord Hendy in a letter the business case for the station showed it could ‘achieve a positive operating balance in its third year, 2028’.

Mr Amos said: “Other recent station openings in the region, notably Okehampton, have far exceeded full business case (FBC) expectations of usage and revenue raised.”

The fate of the station project, which has been developed in tandem with plans to reopen one in Cullompton, Devon, is due to be revealed before Chancellor Rachel Reeves announces her Budget on October 30.

Ms Reeves scrapped the former Conservative Government’s ‘Restoring Your Railways’ fund under which the Wellington and Cullompton stations were to be developed, but the Department for Transport said projects within the scheme would be individually reviewed.

Mr Amos has been continuing efforts to ensure the new Wellington train station went ahead and met Lord Hendy with Cullompton’s MP Richard Foord, with the two MPs following up with a formal letter.

Lord Hendy was familiar with the details of the Wellington project from a previous role as chairman of Network Rail.

Mr Amos said the project represented high value for money and ‘a massive opportunity to kick-start growth in the Bristol, Taunton, and Exeter corridor’.

He said: “More than this, since the FBC was prepared in March, further evidence has come forward of the much-needed jobs, housing, and growth outcomes that would arise because of the project.

“We stand ready to work further as necessary to advance this infrastructure project so vital to the South West.”

Mr Amos also highlighted how additional costs of £1,507 per day were potentially accruing since the Government put a hold on the project with inflation running at 2.2 per cent.

Mr Amos also met informally with Wellington town councillors to discuss the station project and other local issues.