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The rail regulator has given the go ahead for new train services which will “compete with Great Western Railway".

Go-Op, a new co-operatively owned train company, plans to operate services in Wiltshire and Somerset by December 2026.

They include weekday and weekend trains between Taunton and Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Westbury, Taunton and Swindon, and Frome and Westbury.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said its decision gives Go-op the “opportunity to bring the first co-operatively owned train service and the first regional open access service in the UK".

As part of the plan to allow the service to begin, Go-op needs to prove it has the money in place to start the operation, fund some improvements to level crossing and prove it has the rolling stock - or trains - to start the service.

The firm in required to do this "without delay" and at the latest within a year.

Martin Jones, from the ORR, said: “Our decision gives Go-op the opportunity to bring the first co-operatively owned train service and the first regional open access service in the UK.

"We think this novel proposal can benefit passengers across Somerset and Wiltshire.

“We will closely monitor Go-op’s progress towards meeting the financial and rolling stock requirements that are needed before it can bring the services into operation."

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