SUPPORT for a military railway track which operates between Andover and Ludgershall to become a heritage line is gathering steam.

Speaking at Andover Town Council’s meeting last Thursday Councillor David Drew said that the support of two MP heavyweights gave a lot of sway to the initiative.

The joint committee set up by Ludgershall and Andover town councils’ plans involve running special chartered services between the two towns on a railway line already in place and currently used occasionally for military traffic to reach a depot in Ludgershall. Passenger services on the line ended 50 years ago.

Cllr Drew hopes that the group might be able to start up with a taster session and discussions are being held to run a test train down the line.

He said: “I met with Phil Dominey (South West Trains’ stakeholder and accessibility manager) and he was very keen, very supportive and very positive.

“Sir George Young is fully committed to this. We have also got Claire Perry MP (Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport), we are in a very good position to put pressure on the organisation.

“We are also looking at reinstating a platform at Weyhill.

“So far the vibes we are getting back are really positive and encouraging.”

Speaking after the meeting Cllr Drew said that following a visit to Swanage’s heritage line to see how that operated he now hopes to form a similar partnership with all the councils along the track, including Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Wiltshire Council