Cullompton Train Station

Mid Devon District Council is committed to re-open Cullompton Train Station as part of a wider project to improve train services in the subregion. This includes restoring rail access at Cullompton and Wellington stations. Enhancement of rail services along the Bristol – Exeter corridor, including the reopening of new stations, is an important part of the multimodal approach to meeting the travel needs of the region.

In 2019, Mid Devon District Council and Somerset West and Taunton Council became the Project Sponsors, working in partnership to develop the business case for re-opening both stations.

In addition to the two district councils the key partners include:

• Devon County Council
• Somerset County Council
• Network Rail
• Great Western Railway
• Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership
• Cullompton Town Council
• Wellington Town Council
• Richard Foord (MP for Tiverton and Honiton)
• Rebecca Pow (MP for Taunton Deane)

In May 2020, the partnership was successful in securing funding of up to £50k from the Department for Transport’s “Restoring your Railway” Ideas Fund. This funding was used to support the development of the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC).

In 2022, the project lead transferred to Network Rail.

In October 2023, the government announced funding-in-principle to restore railway services.

How will a station benefit Cullompton and Mid Devon?

The ambition is to provide sustainable transport options for residents in our communities. The District Council is keen to reduce carbon emissions, congestion and air quality in Cullompton as well as cutting residents commuting times. It is believed this project will help alleviate these issues. In addition to improving rail accessibility to the key centres of Exeter and Taunton it will also open up economic opportunities for Cullompton.

To support this vision work has been undertaken by the partnership to assess the scope for re-opening stations at Wellington and Cullompton. This has included consideration of the likely patronage from the stations, the options for providing train services to them, and the technical feasibility of providing stations for the two towns.

Next steps

A final business case is due to be submitted to the Government by spring 2024.