THE business case for extending the rail link from Minehead to Taunton has been made – by a group of American students.

Last weekend, local business people and community representatives, including members of Minehead Chamber of Commerce and West Somerset Railway, heard presentations by the group that has spent the term researching some of the challenges facing community and business leaders in West Somerset.

And their research into what Minehead needs to do to develop backed the business case for extending the rail link from Minehead to Taunton, as well as for improving the town’s online presence for tourists.

The 21 students from Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania, were spending a term in London as part of their accountancy and finance degrees.

They were doing research as part of a project led by Roland Bushell, an economist and contract lecturer for the university, who lives in Minehead.

They travelled to Minehead to present their findings at a special event held at the town’s Beach Hotel on Saturday, before they now write a full report which will be distributed to local interest groups.

Using information from a range of online sources and local authorities, one of their findings concluded the business case for extending the rail link from Minehead to Taunton was viable.

Full story in the Free Press (Dec. 9)