1. Growing the regional economy through better connectivity Chris Loder Head of Business Projects

2. Our Network in the Westcountry

3. Our network Inter-regional hourly service on West of England line 3 and 6 car class 159 operation (best performing diesel fleet in the UK) Heavily constrained by single line infrastructure 4 trains a day to Waterloo/Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads West of England has 2 main purposes: –Inter-regional/local –Connecting East Devon, South Somerset, West/North Dorset and South Wiltshire with London Increasingly important - diversionary resilience

4. Rail strategies fueling the economy Where these are working best –West of England Partnership (MetroWest) –Devon County Council (Devon Metro) Emerging –South West Peninsula Rail Task Force –Wiltshire Still to come –Somerset/Dorset –South Somerset/Devon –Dorset/Devon

5. Yeovil/South Somerset case study Additional 7,400 dwellings and 50 hectares of employment land in the next 12 years in Yeovil alone Additional 7,400 dwellings elsewhere in South Somerset with 100 hectares of employment land Main A roads - almost all will have significant upgrade work in the coming years A303 widening/tunnelling will be a major disruption but also a major opportunity for the railways No rail connection between the 2 lines despite infrastructure being available Local traffic congestion is considerable

6. Connections that should be easier Yeovil to Taunton (A358) Crewkerne to Yeovil Pen Mill (A30) Crewkerne to Castle Cary (A303) Weymouth/Dorchester to Axminster/Exeter (A35) Gillingham to Dorchester (A354) Sherborne to Dorchester/Weymouth (A37/A352)

7. Our December 2015 proposal

8. West of England Connectivity proposal for December 2015 Half-hourly service to Yeovil between 12:20 & 19:20 (except for 14:50) 3 additional trains from Yeovil to London Connecting Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill 17 times a day 2 direct trains per day in each direction Bruton and Frome to London Direct service from Yeovil Pen Mill to Exeter 2 trains per hour to Cranbrook and Honiton in the Exeter evening peak (16:00-18:00) Offering a number of new journey opportunities in the area

9. Questions