Somerset residents face a longer wait to find out whether rail services will return to two towns in the heart of the Levels.

Langport and Somerton were both served by trains on the line between Taunton and Castle Cary before their stations were closed in the mid-1960s during the infamous Beeching cuts.

Funding for a feasibility study into a new station to serve both communities was agreed in May 2021, with South Somerset District Council and local parish and town councils providing funding on top of a £50,000 grant from central government.

A feasibility for the new station – officially known as the strategic outline business case (SOBC) – was completed and submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) in March 2022, with the Langport Transport Group (LTG) expecting the results to be published before Christmas.

However, the DfT has confirmed that the SOBC is still being evaluated more than a year on – meaning it could be many years before any new station is constructed.

The SOBC was completed under the guidance of a steering group, which included members from Somerset County Council and the district council (both of which have since been abolished), Network Rail, Great Western Railway (GWR), the Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership (LEP), the DfT and the LTG.

The study is understood to have identified two possible locations for a new station – one in Somerton, and one near Langport.

Both of Langport's original railway stations have seen been redeveloped, with the Langport West site becoming the Westover trading estate and the Langport East site being redeveloped into new homes.

Somerton's original station lay down Station Path near the town centre, with the only evidence of its existence today being a 350-metre long siding.

Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton – who has been campaigning for a new station on the Levels for the best part of a decade – escalated the issue in February in a letter to transport secretary Mark Harper MP, which was published on his official website.

Mr Warburton said: "With upcoming signal work already planned and approaching fast on this line, time is now of the essence if this project is to reach fruition.

"If secured, the funding will be used to deliver a much-needed railway station that will reconnect a vast area of south Somerset to the rail network and wider economy after nearly 60 years.

"Regrettably, this disconnection has led to low productivity, increased pollution from motor vehicles, social immobility, and reduced access to employment and education.

"Demand forecasts show that a new Langport or Somerton station will attract a level of patronage which is comparable to other neighbouring stations on the rail network, with a significant number of new-to-rail passengers."

The DfT indicated on Thursday (April 27) that the SOB was still being evaluated and would not give any time-scale as to when a decision would be made.

A spokesman said: "The Langport and Somerton railway station strategic outline business case remains under consideration by the department, and an update will be provided in due course."

Mr Warburton is currently conducting a survey via his website on how the new station would be used, to get a more accurate picture of its potential catchment area and in turn inform the kinds of services which could be run on the line.

To complete the survey, visit www.davidwarburton.org.uk/langport-somerton-new-station-survey.