The rail link between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare will not be part of the £1bn electrification of the London/Bristol/Cardiff route, the Department for Transport has ruled.
The West of England Partnership wrote to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond following his announcement of the mainline project in March to see if Weston could be included in the scheme.
But the DfT says that services between Bristol and Weston do not run often enough to justify upgrading the line.
It said it was not a “viable business case” because high frequency services were needed to offset the savings in train maintenance against fixed lineside costs – the same answer given to the Welsh Assembly about a similar request to extend electrification as far as Swansea.
It added that bi-mode trains which are capable of running on electricity or diesel would serve Weston.
However, there could be hope in the future because the DfT will keep future electrification “under active review”.
An electrified mainline service could be operational by 2016 and will shave 22 minutes off journey times between Bristol and Paddingon.
