A NEW railway station for Cullompton could become reality after the county and district councils backed calls for improved public transport links.

With reductions in the number of buses serving Cullompton via Exeter and Taunton, along with a possible reduction in both the main line and Tarka Line train services, concern has been steadily rising over the town’s accessibility.

Now Devon County Council has expressed an interest in bringing a train station back to Cullompton half a century after the old one closed.

In a letter to town and district councillor Nikki Woolatt, county council cabinet member for highways and transportation Cllr Stuart Hughes said: “While it is possible in layout terms to provide a station for Cullompton there is currently no train service which would call there.

“However, in responding to the Department for Transport’s consultation on the new Great Western Rail Franchise to start in 2013, we made the case for an hourly stopping service between Exeter and Taunton.

“If this could be achieved at some time within the new franchise it would pave the way for a station to be added at Cullompton.”

Mid Devon District Council is backing the idea and says it would welcome the development of platforms on allocated land at junction 28, roughly where the previous station stood before falling victim to British Rail network cuts in the 1960s.

The calls have been partly inspired by rising fuel prices and Cullompton’s expanding population, which currently stands at 23,989 – a figure the county council did not expect would be reached until 2016.

District council leader Cllr Peter Hare-Scott said: “We’re experiencing an economic climate where motoring prices are rising beyond reach for some in rural communities.

“In addition, our dependency on oil and climate change concerns must be taken into account.

“It’s important that public transport is made available for the needs of our residents.”