Nearest station to Glastonbury Festival site could be made more accessible
The station is one of two in Somerset which will receive accessibility upgrades in the coming years
Efforts to make the nearest railway station to the Glastonbury Festival site more accessible have taken a step forward – but much more needs to be done.
Castle Cary railway station handles more than 354,000 passenger journeys per year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The station is one of two in Somerset which will receive accessibility upgrades in the coming years as part of the government’s ‘access for all’ programme (the other being Yeovil Junction).
But additional work may be needed to create an entirely accessible route between the station and the town centre – a route currently characterised by challenging terrain, narrow pavements and inconsistent surfaces.
Castle Cary and Yeovil Junction are among 23 stations across the UK (and four in the south west) which will be taken forward in the current round of the ‘access for all’ programme (the others being Bodmin Parkway in Cornwall and Dorchester South in Dorset).
Castle Cary currently has a pedestrian bridge straddling all three platforms, but there are no ramps or lifts installed to allow disabled patients to utilise the bridge – leaving them reliant on station staff to help them across.
Under the programme, 50 per cent of the design work for accessibility upgrades will be completed by March 2027 and the remaining 50 per cent by the autumn of the same year.
The agreed improvements will be implemented some time in 2028, with the cost being jointly borne between Network Rail and the soon-to-be-nationalised Great Western Railway (GWR).
Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke, whose constituency includes Castle Cary, said that the “significant third-party funding” already accrued would mean these improvements could quickly progress to delivery.
She said: “Although we’ve been pleased to see significant recent upgrades in various facilities provided at the station, many constituents and I have remained concerned about the lack of step-free access for those with disabilities, travelling with young children in pushchairs or carrying heavy luggage.
“Having personally pressed rail minister Lord Hendy on this issue last year, I’m delighted to see that the government has listened and identified Castle Cary as a station in urgent need of accessibility upgrades.
“I look forward to the progression of the plans under the access for all scheme, which will deliver an enormous practical improvement for my constituents and indeed everyone using the station.”
While efforts to improve the station’s accessibility are moving forward, wider challenges remain to make it easier for passengers to move between the station and the town centre.
Local resident Roger Lush said: “Access to the station for pedestrians is far below par. Unquestionably the station does require an accessibility upgrade, and lifts could easily be added to the rear of the footbridge supports.
“The bridge has only recently been refurbished by Network Rail and GWR, along with all the wonderful ‘retro’ refurbishments at the station.
“The pavement down Station Road and the A371 Ansford Hill are far from being accessible to wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
“It is not wide enough or well-surfaced, especially beyond the bottom of Ansford Hill and is unlit and narrow beyond the railway bridges – so lots of upgrades are required around this area.”
Those alighting at Castle Cary railway station have two options for reaching the town centre: the longer route along the A371 and the B3152 (passing numerous housing developments and the long-running sink-hole), or the more direct route using the existing footpath to the south.
This footpath, which runs from the footbridge to Ansford Hill, is currently narrow and cracked in places – but could be upgraded as part of the proposed Station Green housing development, comprising 200 homes (of which 70 will be affordable).
A separate planned development of 49 homes on Burfitt Road (put forward by Backhouse Housing) is expected to deliver a safe crossing over Ansford Hill – with passengers currently having no dedicated crossing from the end of the station footpath.
From there, passengers follow Lower Ansford (which has no pavements) as far as St. Andrew’s Church, having the choice of either passing through the churchyard (when the gates are open) or following a narrow footpath around the church boundary).
After the church, the public can proceed down a lit footpath onto Priory View and onto the perimeter path around the Donald Pither Memorial Ground, before heading down Florida Street (which also has no pavements) into the Market Place.
The Glastonbury TrainLink campaign group is currently hoping to secure around £150,000 to trial a direct bus service between the station and Glastonbury town centre – which may include a stop in Castle Cary town centre.
A spokesperson said: “Our rail network provides a low-carbon option of travel; however, getting access to this network is not always easy,
“Glastonbury has no direct public transport service to our nearest station, Castle Cary.
“We want to be the first town to provide a dedicated bus service that’s primary purpose is to link up with train arrivals and departures from their nearest railway station.
“Getting to the station can be tricky sometimes, especially if you are not driving, are too young or old to drive, do not have a car, are drinking alcohol or if it is too expensive.
“For younger generations, the added convenience of travel truly opens up the world broadening their horizons and ultimately creating more opportunities.”
To give your views on this trial, visit www.glastonburytrainlink.org/survey.
The group intends to bid for funding from Somerset Council’s share of the local authority bus grant, with the bid going through the Somerset Bus Partnership.
The council will receive a total of £24,741,113 between the 2026/27 and 2029/30 financial years following an announcement by the Department for Transport (DfT) before Christmas.
Of this, £13,148,886 comprises revenue spending (up to April 2029), which can be used to reduce running costs for passengers (e.g. subsidising fares) and £11,592,227 consists of capital funding (up to April 2030), which is typically used on projects such as the delivery of Taunton’s new transport hub and its rural counterpart in Langport.
Both sets of funding run alongside the £3 single fare cap, which the government has pledged to keep in place until March 2027.