| New Dorset transport vision for roads, rail and buses (3.10.2026) Posted by grahame at 07:28, 4th October 2026 |     |
From the Dorset Echo
New Dorset transport vision for roads, rail and buses
A sweeping transport blueprint has set out a vision for Dorset's future, with a range of rail, road and public transport projects identified as priorities for investment over the next decade.
[snip]
Rail improvements form a key part of the strategy, with enhanced services on the Heart of Wessex Line among the highest-priority schemes.
The document says a series of infrastructure enhancements could pave the way for an hourly service on the route, improving connections across Dorset, Somerset and Bristol while increasing reliability and capacity for communities including Dorchester, Maiden Newton and Yetminster
The project would include a new passing loop between Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill, a new platform at Westbury and signalling upgrades. No cost estimate or delivery timeline has yet been set.
Rail bosses have backed proposals to increase services on the line but acknowledged the scheme remains in its early stages.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and Network Rail said: "The proposal is a key part of Network Rail's strategy for the region, providing the opportunity to improve transport for a growing community on the only north-south transport route in the area.
A sweeping transport blueprint has set out a vision for Dorset's future, with a range of rail, road and public transport projects identified as priorities for investment over the next decade.
[snip]
Rail improvements form a key part of the strategy, with enhanced services on the Heart of Wessex Line among the highest-priority schemes.
The document says a series of infrastructure enhancements could pave the way for an hourly service on the route, improving connections across Dorset, Somerset and Bristol while increasing reliability and capacity for communities including Dorchester, Maiden Newton and Yetminster
The project would include a new passing loop between Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill, a new platform at Westbury and signalling upgrades. No cost estimate or delivery timeline has yet been set.
Rail bosses have backed proposals to increase services on the line but acknowledged the scheme remains in its early stages.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and Network Rail said: "The proposal is a key part of Network Rail's strategy for the region, providing the opportunity to improve transport for a growing community on the only north-south transport route in the area.
Makes sense to put the service up to hourly, for which the extra loop is appropriate (as well as helping with diversions and other services running Castle Cary - Yeovil Junction. Also good to see Westbury 4th platform again on this project; it's case is made the stronger by looking at its use by extra services at Westbuty - stepping up to hourly to Swindon, to Weymouth, and from London (perhaps continuing to Taunton).
