image: Go-op Co-operative
The Go-op Co-operative, which secured regulatory approval a year ago to run the first rail service owned by passengers, has warned that the benefits to several West Country towns are in jeopardy because of ‘a hostile investment environment’ which is partly caused by wider railway reforms, including the creation of Great British Railways.
Go-op has set a fundraising target of £2.6 million and has until May to secure £1.1 million to launch its services between Swindon, Westbury, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare, but said ‘recent messaging has created an impression of government hostility to future open access rail that drowned out the actual support from the Department for Transport for this particular service’.
Operations director Alex Lawrie said: ‘The business case is as strong as ever, and we’ve not held back from offering strong returns on investment – keystone investors have the opportunity to double their money. But the fact of the matter is that with time running out for delivery of the new services, we’re hearing from investors large and small that factors outside Go-op’s control are making it impossible for them to commit to the investment that is required.
‘This matters to a lot of people. At least one new station may be relying on these new services. A hundred thousand people would see the frequency of services at their local station double from two hourly to hourly. Over a million passenger kilometres a year would be travelled on routes that are currently only practical in a car. The impact on health, productivity and the environment in Somerset and Wiltshire is huge. People have a right to know why this is such a struggle.’
Meanwhile, Go-op has admitted that that its initial share offer ‘was rushed and poorly resourced’, and as a result many investors either didn’t hear about it or viewed the target of moving into profit as unachievable.
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