Baschurch Railway Station update
An independent report into the possibility of reopening Baschurch Railway Station has advised that it could only be viable if there is a strong financial case in the future.
A group of campaigners, called the Baschurch Station Group, has been working hard to raise the profile of the station and called for Shropshire Council to review how an independent study was undertaken in 2007. The study concluded in 2007 that reopening the station would not make financial sense, but campaigners have since questioned the way the study was done.
The study examined the costs and benefits of the re-opening in accordance with the Department for Transport guidance and found the benefit to cost ratio to be 0.86, meaning that for every one pound spent on providing a station, there would only be a return of 86 pence.
Council officers have reviewed the study and found that while there have been some changes to how projects are assessed by the Department of Transport and Network Rail, there is still very little likelihood of Baschurch meeting the criteria set for attracting funding. Realistically it would need a benefit to cost ratio of at least 2.0 to be considered for funding.
Spending money now on a refresh of the study would not advance the scheme, but officers say circumstances could change in the future and want to review the situation again in 2014 – which will be in advance of when the allocation of the next round of Network Rail funding is due to be considered.
Councillor Simon Jones, cabinet member, said:
“The work of the Baschurch Station Group has been excellent and I hope they will continue to push for their station to reopen. Regrettably, it’s difficult for us as a council to justify spending money on another study when it’s exceptionally unlikely that any funding will be found for the project in the near future. But that’s not to say we should give up, and I think we need to look at this again in a couple of years when the situation might be different.”
Shropshire Council’s local member for the Baschurch area, Aggie Caesar-Homden, added:
“Having worked closely with the Baschurch Station Group for some time now I understand how passionate local people are about this. We had overwhelming support from local residents at the public meeting last year that I attended with the local MP, Owen Paterson, but I think we have to be realistic that in the current economic climate it is difficult for the council to offer any significant financial support.
“I will continue to work with the group in the future because I believe that it is important we keep the pressure up and hopefully we can make some progress in the future. It is more important than ever for the community to work with the parish council and local authority to identify its priorities in the Local Place Plans and ensure that this continues to be a focus for the whole community.”
Further notes
Baschurch is located on the rail line from Shrewsbury to Chester via Wrexham, between Shrewsbury and Gobowen stations. Services are presently provided by Arriva Trains Wales.
The Chester – Wrexham – Shrewsbury Line Study completed in 2007, was commissioned by the Chester to Shrewsbury Line Partnership and was undertaken by Scott Wilson Railways. The Scott Wilson Group plc is an international consultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation, property, environment and natural resources sectors.
The study was sponsored to the sum of £80,000 by the Welsh Assembly Government, the Welsh transport consortia TaiTH and TraCC, Wrexham County Borough Council, and the former authorities of Cheshire County and Shropshire County Councils. The study examined all aspects of the line, the constraints and its potential, and as part of that looked at the potential for any new stations along the route.
A total of six possible sites for stations were found to be worthy of further examination, and the study concluded that from these six, Baschurch had the lowest value business case of all.
