Groundbreaking train co‑op gets green light for Taunton‑Swindon rail service
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Pioneering Co‑operatives UK member Go-op plans to run the country’s first co‑operatively owned transport service by December 2025.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) – Britain’s railway regulator – has approved the first ever package of rail services to be delivered by a co‑operative. Co‑operatives UK member Go-op is a new ‘open access’ operator that has spent more than 10 years developing a route to connect poorly served stations in the West Country. This recent breakthrough will now allow passengers to develop their own services.
The direct services between Taunton and Swindon will call at towns such as Frome, Melksham and Castle Cary that, for years, have had little service. Go-op trains will provide valuable connections that will also open up new opportunities for travel for residents of Yeovil, Dorchester, Salisbury and Bridgwater.
Go-op Chair Alex Lawrie said: "It’s fantastic news for Somerset and Wiltshire where, for many years, trains have just passed straight through. Towns like Taunton, Frome, Melksham and Chippenham will really notice the difference."
The ORR’s approval means Network Rail must now allocate sufficient time on the railway for the services to operate. A collaborative process involving Network Rail, Go-op and other operators in 2022 established the technical feasibility of the route, and a new timetable adopted in the area from May 2023 includes ‘paths’ that could be filled by the Go-op trains.
Go-op hopes to be running trains from December 2025. They are now planning the necessary work to enable them to launch the services. Go-op Director Martin Bond said: “We’re going to be training a group of new train drivers, fine tuning the timetable and establishing a new control centre for the route.
"We’ll need to plan the refurbishment of suitable rolling stock, including additional action to reduce carbon emissions, and review safety on level crossings that will now have many more trains passing over them. Building a train operating company from the ground up isn’t a simple task, and we are determined to get it right."
David Northey, formerly a Network Rail Strategic Manager for the Western Region and now Vice Chair of Go-op, said: "There have been rails linking Taunton and the West Country to the central hub of Swindon for over a century, but as a route it has been neglected."
Go-op propose to finance their scheme using a mix of loans and crowdfunded investment. Members will have the chance to invest in community shares – a form of equity investment that focuses on steady returns, a blend of social and financial reward and broad-based, democratic management.
While Britain’s co-operative movement began and grew in the retail sector, the co-op business model has since proliferated in many other sectors including renewable energy, telecoms and digital services. This move into the safety-critical, capital-intensive rail industry marks a further step forward for alternative models of business management.
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Full steam ahead for first co-operatively owned rail service
