Support for extra track campaign

Network Rail has supported calls for an extra track

More than 1,800 people have signed a petition in Gloucestershire calling for an extra railway track between Kemble and Swindon.

The campaign is led by Gloucestershire County Council which believes an extra track is vital to the local economy.

The Office of the Rail Regulator's (ORR) 2009-14 draft business plan for Network rail does not include the re-doubling of the Kemble-Swindon line.

The council hopes that its petition can persuade the ORR otherwise.

At the moment there is only a single track running between Kemble in Gloucestershire and Swindon in Wiltshire which is part of the Stroud Valley line.

Network Rail has supported calls for an extra track, but earlier this year the ORR said it would not be including the work in its planned programme for 2009-14.

The programme contains 50 of the most pressing rail projects in England and Wales to be carried out at a cost of £7.1 billion - but the Kemble to Swindon track is number 51 on the list and therefore will not be included.

'Bad decision'

The consultation on the ORR's decision closes on 4 September 2008 and the "Final Determination" will be published in late October. The council hope to persuade the ORR that the extra track should be included in Network Rail's business plan.

Councillor Julie Girling, of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "The fact that we have received so much support for this campaign is evidence that we need the extra track.

"People who work and live in Gloucestershire don't want to see the county suffer as a result of a bad decision made by the ORR.

"I would urge the ORR to listen to the people of Gloucestershire and reinstate the Stroud to Kemble line project in its plans for the next five years."

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