PLANS to build a £15 million new railway station in Corsham within the next five years are now one step closer to fruition after the Strategic Outline Business Case was submitted to the government.

The project leaders say the new station will help improve connectivity, unlock investment, reduce traffic and reduce pollution. 

Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan has lobbied neighbouring MPs to support the station, saying it will benefit not just Corsham but the whole area. 

She has also asked for a meeting with new Rail Minister Huw Merriman MP, saying she will continue to “bang the drum” for Corsham Station at every opportunity.

The project team secured £50,000 of funding from the Restoring your Railway Ideas Fund for feasibility studies to be undertaken.

They have since been working closely with Corsham Railway Town Team, Wiltshire Council and all relevant stakeholders on developing the Strategic Outline Business Case, which has now been submitted to the Department for Transport for consideration.

Miss Donelan said: “As the lead sponsoring MP for a train station at Corsham, I have been busy playing a key role in helping submit the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) which will now be considered by the Department for Transport.

“I have asked for a meeting with the newly-appointed Rail Minister where I will be setting out our stall for a station to be built in Corsham. Our case is very strong and I will keep on banging the drum at every opportunity.”

The project team say the SOBC presents a “very strong case” for a railway station to be built at Corsham that will provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the town and the surrounding areas.

“There is a groundswell of support from local people for a railway station and it is the number one priority in the community,” Miss Donelan said.

As part of the SOBC, an economic assessment has been undertaken which clearly shows that all of the options on the table generate significant levels of demand, benefits and revenue.

The one-train-per-hour option would generate between 478,000 and 573,000 passengers per year in 2043, and the two-trains-per-hour option would generate between 976,000 and 989,000 passengers per year in 2043.

The old Corsham Railway Station opened in 1841 and closed in January 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts to many underperforming and disused branch lines nationwide.