Brackmills CEO says she will do 'anything she can' to get Northampton shuttle train plan on track

The CEO of Northampton's Brackmills estate says she will do "anything she can" to help get a transport group's dream of building a shuttle train for the town off the ground.

The disused Brackmills track that runs out of the bottom of Northampton railway station hasn't carried passengers in decades.

But one group - the English Rail Transport Association (ERTA) - says the line should be dusted off and put to work to create a shuttle train to link the town centre, the Waterside Campus and Brackmills Industrial Estate.

Now, the ERTA has found an ally in their cause through the CEO of Brackmills Sara Homer - who says she will do "anything she can" to get the shuttle train plan heard by the borough council.

Mrs Homer told the Chronicle & Echo: "I think it's ideal.

"A lot of people who work in Brackmills are agency or seasonal workers who live in the town centre and don't have cars. They cycle or walk or have to get a bus, which there aren't as many of these days either.

"A lot of people also struggle with severe congestion on the A45 several days a week.

"Reopening this line from the town to Brackmills would be brilliant."

Many of Northampton's residents might not know about the disused Brackmills track. It runs out the bottom of Northampton railway station and pivots under Towcester Road before it runs through Brackmills and through to Great Houghton.

The ERTA says by reopening the line with a lightweight shuttle train - known as a Parry People Mover - it would be used to build a park-and-ride with stops at the railway station, the Waterside Campus, Brackmills and Great Houghton.

"I think that could be a viable option," Mrs Homer said.

"It would be eco-friendly, it would help congestion on the A45 and we just need to get it off the ground. We can't just put more and more vehicles on the road."

The ERTA says the business case for the shuttle train has been "made clear" in the face of a 525-house development near Brackmills that was given the greenlight by the borough council last year.