Hopes for a new railway station in Devizes have hit the buffers after a study found a standalone station is “unlikely to represent value for money.”

Devizes remains the largest Wiltshire town without a rail service, but there had been high hopes for a proposed unmanned Gateway Railway Station just 3.4 miles from the Market Place.

A study into the feasibility of the project, carried out by Network Rail, found the cost of a new standalone station in Devizes would outweigh the benefits by delaying existing services between London and the southwest.

Network Rail’s industry programme director for the region, Daniel Round, explained: “We know how popular a new station at Devizes would be locally and we've worked hard to see if it was economically viable.

“However, we found that the costs of providing a standalone station at Devizes would outweigh the benefits.

“This is because stopping the existing train services that operate between London and the southwest at a new Devizes station would have a far-reaching knock-on effect on the smooth running of trains over a wider area, impacting far more people than those likely to join trains at Devizes.”

Mr Round did add that the connectivity the Devizes community is looking for could be met by a new stopping service extending the London to Newbury service to Westbury, via Devizes.

But he warned this would “not only require more trains but also more infrastructure, including an extra platform at Westbury to allow the service to turn around.

"While this is disappointing in relation to a standalone station for Devizes, the study identified that there would be benefits to increasing train service connectivity across Wiltshire”, he said.

Reacting to the study, council member for transport Cllr Caroline Thomas said the council will take the findings into account when forming a new local transport plan.

She added the study: “Furthered our understanding of what a new station at Devizes Gateway could look like, and the other changes in Westbury and elsewhere in Wiltshire that need to be considered in order to get real value from adding the station to the rail network.”

The Devizes Development Partnership has been a leading supporter of the Gateway station project, and chair Iain Wallis has pledged to continue raising awareness of the need for increased rail services.

He said: “We recognise the challenge ahead to realise the long-held aspirations of our local community for better connectivity.

“We will keep raising awareness of the importance of this project and the need for rail improvements.”