Providing new infrastructure will directly help in significantly reducing car use at Sharpness Vale. Andy Faizey explains the exciting progress being made on a new rail link.
Sharpness already has an operational railway line. We think it is time for people to be able to use it again.
We are designing Sharpness Vale to include the re-opening of the railway line at Sharpness to passenger services, including the construction of a new station.
Network Rail has formally confirmed that it agrees with the timetable study we commissioned to explore the viability of restoring passenger train services to Sharpness.
The timetable study concluded that a service for one train per hour between Sharpness and Gloucester can be accommodated within the current timetable, so long as the track and signalling on the branchline are made suitable.. The addition of a further service, to provide two trains per hour to Sharpness can be accommodated in the future, on the basis of some amendments to the signalling on the approach to Gloucester station.
The costs of delivering both services over time have been included in an outline business case for re-opening the railway. The improvements overall would allow trains to run at higher operational speeds to a new station at Sharpness Vale. All this work has been included in the outline business case which is part of the submission made by Stroud District Council, and sponsored by Siobhan Baillie MP, to the Government’s “Restoring your Railway” fund.