A NEW opportunity to try and persuade transport chiefs and government officials to re-open Corsham train station is in the pipeline.

Fifty years since it closed, community rail group TransWilts are urging locals to take part in their online survey to see how much demand there is for the station to get back up and running.

They will use the results to analyse passenger’s travel patterns, demographics and other factors to present an economic case to the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

They will then put the findings to the government as part of a strategic plan to seek some of the millions of pounds it would cost to fund.

The TransWilts group, which aim to improve rail travel, are proposing an hourly service should run, calling at Corsham and running from Bristol to Swindon.

Alternatively they are suggesting the proposed MetroWest scheme, which will serve parts of Bath and Bristol, extend to Chippenham and Swindon. Either proposal would provide a service by 2019 at the latest.

The last passenger demand survey for Corsham station was held in 1988 and the new TransWilts one has seen more than 500 people take part already.

For decades campaigners have been trying to get it back open and TransWilts chairman Paul Johnson believes while the electrification work is being carried out, now it the time to put forward a case.

He said: “The electrification of the line by 2017 and a new First Great Western franchise continuing from 2015 to 2019 has revitalised the case for a Corsham station.

“It would provide congestion benefits on the A4 and support growth of the town’s digital sector through people commuting into the area.

“It’s a window of opportunity and I think it’s the best hope it’s ever had.”

Wiltshire Council are also commissioning a study to investigate the benefits and likely costs, with the results expected to be published next month,

TransWilts will combine both studies and share it with stakeholders such as Network Rail, the Department of Transport and First Great Western on how it could benefit Wiltshire.

The survey is running until May 7 and can be found here