THE campaign for a new railway station for Wellington has been raised directly with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

It happened when Wellington town councillor and new Somerset county councillor John Thorne met the Minister during a tour of the Westcountry.

Cllr Thorne said: “It was a useful meeting, because the Minister confirmed that the work the town council and others are doing is the right way to take the station project forward.

“He advised we should work with the Local Enterprise Partnership, which is what we are doing, and he promised the Government would give serious consideration to any Wellington proposal which was properly prepared.

“It was very encouraging to hear from the man at the top that, to use a pun, we are on the right track with our campaign.”

Cllr Thorne, who was elected to represent the Blackdown and Neroche division on the county council last week, pointed out to Mr Grayling that Wellington was the largest town on the Paddington to Penzance line without a train station.

He also told him of the huge amount of local support for the project and the backing it has received from Rebecca Pow – Taunton MP until the General Election and Conservative candidate on June 8 – who facilitated the meeting with the Minister.

Cllr Thorne, who eight years ago helped to found the Trains for Wellington (T4W) campaign, has already secured £10,000 from the town council towards a railway station feasibility study.