NORTH Petherton Town Council is urging people to attend a meeting with Network Rail this month to consult with residents about the closure of the Huntworth Railway bridge.
The closure of the road bridge would last for 22 weeks in the early summer of 2014 and will mean residents of Moorland and Fordgate will be faced with a massive round trip in order to get to North Petherton or Bridgwater.
The town council has arranged a public meeting to be held at Moorland Village Hall on January 27 to discuss the proposal.
North Petherton Mayor Bill Revans said: “We understand that this long closure is being caused because Network Rail intend to keep the railway line open and are therefore only able to work overnight.
“We believe that this is to avoid the cost of the compensation they would have to pay to the train operating companies if the line were closed.
“They are ignoring the cost to the residents of Moorland, who will be faced with a very long diversion to access the M5 or local towns such as Bridgwater or North Petherton.
“Local farmers will be badly affected in many ways - not least is the fact that a three-mile trip to the Rural Business Centre at junction 24 will become a 30-mile round trip.
“I would urge anyone who uses that route to attend this meeting to show the amount of concern relating to the closure.”
Network Rail was unavailable to comment on this particular case as it was inundated with press queries regarding services affected by the recent severe weather.
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