THE West Somerset Railway - Britain's longest heritage line - could have a more secure future if plans for the sale of the 22-mile track go ahead.

The West Somerset Railway Association, a registered charity separate from the operating company, has made an offer to buy the freehold of the line from Somerset County Council.

The council bought the freehold in the early 1970s to ensure the railway survived as a heritage service and tourist attraction after the line became a victim of the Beeching cuts and was closed as a national route in 1971.

The association, which played a major role in the reopening of the line between 1976 and 1979 and continues to have an impact on its ongoing success, believes buying the freehold would be a "win-win deal".

"The purchase will effectively relieve the council and local taxpayers of any possible future financial obligations to support the railway," said association chairman David Williams.

"The council would also receive a capital receipt to spend on important public projects, safe in the knowledge that the railway was being transferred to a body that was fully committed both to retaining the railway as a heritage attraction and encouraging its use as a vital part of the local transport network."

The association has not revealed how much it is prepared to offer for the line but it is understood to be a substantial rather than peppercorn amount.

The West Somerset Railway plc, the current leaseholders, would continue to operate the railway on a day-to-day basis, with no visible change for travelling passengers and visiting enthusiasts.

Mr Williams said the association was able to offer a risk-free option that would benefit all parties.

Taxpayers would benefit from the capital receipt which would be available for the council to spend on other projects at a time when local authority money was tight.

And the sale would also relieve the council of any obligation to contribute to the major repairs and investment in the railway's infrastructure that would be required in the years ahead.

As a charity, the association is unable to invest its money into anything it does not own.

Mr Williams said as the association was a charity, it was able to agree to covenants as part of the sale that a commercial organisation could not.

"Our aim is to safeguard the heritage line for the future," he said.

So in the event the association should cease to exist, the freehold of the line would revert to the council or its successor for just £1.

"It is a win-win situation for the council and the taxpayers of Somerset," said Mr Williams.

He said talks had been going on between the association and the council for about a year.

And it was felt that the association, which has more than 4,500 members - many of whom work as volunteers on the railway - was the ideal body to take on the freehold of the line.

"It is volunteer input that has enabled the railway to survive and operate, as the line could not be run as a viable business without the countless hours of labour freely given each year.

"The purchase of the freehold would be just reward for the many thousands of association members whose generosity over the years has placed us in the position to make this proposal, railway enthusiasts, the current leaseholder and operator, and the general public who have supported the reopening and continued success of the West Somerset Railway over the last 42 years."

Mr Williams said by buying the freehold in the 1970s, the council had ensured the railway did not fall into private or company ownership.

"The association is fully committed to that same objective.

"Our proposal would benefit all parties involved and secure the West Somerset Railway for future generals without the need to make expensive calls on public funds - a win-win situation for everybody."

The council's cabinet member for resources Cllr David Huxtable said no formal offer from the association had been received as yet.

"But I have talked at length with its leaders and we are in broad agreement that the association's purchase of the freehold would offer excellent prospects for the future success of the West Somerset Railway," he said.

"A purchase of this nature would also generate capital for reinvestment in the council's infrastructure."