WELLINGTON residents doubt they will ever see a train station built in the town the and have described recent proposals as “an election carrot”.
The Wellington Weekly News carried out a survey of 40 random people in the town and 90 per cent of respondents want a new station to serve the town.
However, many had their doubts about its viability and 80 per cent of those surveyed doubt the project will ever materialise.
And half of the those surveyed claimed they didn’t even know about the plans.
Former Wellington resident, Nick Milton, says he is yet to be convinced whether a new train station will have the advantages supporters claim it will offer.
He said: “It is my understanding that our Government has made it crystal clear that there is no funding available for this project.
“Many of the people who have indicated their support did so in the belief that Great Western Railway (GWR) would agree to stopping their inter-city trains at Wellington to allow a direct service to London and other destinations without the need to change trains at Taunton. Without such an undertaking, there doesn't appear to be a good case for building a new station.”
The former Wellington Station closed in 1964, but campaigners have fought to have the service reinstated ever since.
After the announcement of the Autumn Budget in October 2021, councils in Devon and Somerset began working to create a Devon and Somerset Metro network, including the restoration of rail access to both Wellington and Cullompton.
During her tenure, Conservative MP for Taunton Deane, Rebecca Pow, secured funding of £15 million for a new Wellington station, together with a site near the Longforth Farm housing estate, with initial plans to have it up and running by June 2026.
But the new Labour Government, which came to power in July’s General Election, immediately scrapped the fund from which the money for the station would have been provided.
After defeating Ms Pow in the 2024 election, Liberal Democrat Gideon Amos, the new MP for Taunton and Wellington, has vowed to fight for the train station development and has met Rail Minister Lord Hendy. But there are no results to date.
A Waterloo Road resident, who asked to remain anonymous, believes the plans may just be another “election carrot”.
Other locals feel Wellington wouldn’t have the capacity to keep up with the resulting increase in demand for social services and town amenities.
Wellington resident Ann Kelly said “I approve of the station but at the moment, they don’t have the infrastructure to allow for a population increase which would come with it.”
Concerns have also been raised about the prospective unmanned station which Sharon Forskitt said would become “a white elephant” without accessibility for the elderly and disabled local population.
Sharon said: “There are lots of old people in Wellington so as far as I’m concerned, they’ve only done half the job if they aren’t representing older people and people with disabilities.”
A spokesperson for GWR has confirmed the vast majority will benefit from improved accessibility to the railway network “from having a new, local railway station that they can use.”
The spokesman added: "Every train calling at Wellington will have a member of staff on board who can help customers on/off the train. While from a physical perspective the station will meet all accessibility standards in terms of lifts, tactile flooring and way-finding.
"For those needing more specialist care, for example, those who are visually impaired and need help from drop off to train, we'll continue to provide our assisted travel service, offering alternative transport to the nearest accessible station."
While the majority of respondents said they don’t expect the station to be reinstated, they are hugely in favour of seeing such a service return to their town.
Many said they approved of prospective reductions in town traffic, accessible and reliable transport, and positive environmental impacts.
Richard Davey, a Wellington resident with an office in Plymouth, said the station would greatly benefit him as a regular commuter.
He said: “I’m strongly in favour of the railway station. As I live in Wellington and am a director of a web development company in Plymouth, I often find myself commuting to all parts of the country, and also regularly travel to our office in Plymouth. For longer journeys, I either fly from Exeter or get the train from Tiverton parkway. This is very inconvenient due to extortionate parking fees and extra travel time.
“A train station in Wellington, even with a limited service, would open the possibility of directly commuting to meetings and would even open the possibility for me to open a secondary office in Wellington for clients to visit, and to recruit additional staff from further afield.
“Wellington isn’t well-known as being a tech hub and although the skills do exist, they are limited.”
Resident L E Davey said: “I am for having the station. Wellington is growing at an alarming rate with more housing developments planned.
“I think a railway station would definitely ease traffic in the area between Wellington and Taunton. It would allow people to access more facilities in Taunton as Wellington does not have the facilities to cope with its current population, let alone more.
“It also has environmental impacts because it should ease pollution from traffic, especially queuing traffic. It should also help people to get jobs outside of the area and allow people in Taunton to travel to Wellington for work.
“A station would make Wellington a more popular choice and that can only help current businesses in the area. As a country we need to be investing in public transport. We are woefully behind other countries in this aspect.”
Another resident, Chris Palmer-Berry, added: “I use the train a lot and it would obviously help if we had a station in Wellington and not have to wait for unreliable buses to take me to Taunton.
“I know that the town council are in favour of the station, though how much the new government will listen is another matter, even if our MP is all for it. “