A PETITION sent to Downing Street has failed to persuade the Prime Minister to allocate any cash to support the re-opening of Portishead s railway line. Gordon Brown s response to the plea from more than 1,000 frustrated commuters and supporters of the

A PETITION sent to Downing Street has failed to persuade the Prime Minister to allocate any cash to support the re-opening of Portishead's railway line.

Gordon Brown's response to the plea from more than 1,000 frustrated commuters and supporters of the railway from the UK's fastest growing town was, 'the Government did not regard the re-opening of the railway line as a priority'.

Dr Liam Fox MP for Woodspring, who called Portishead 'the biggest cul-de-sac in the country' in a Parliamentary debate said: "I have pointed out in the Commons that Portishead meets every criteria the Government has set out for re-opening the railway link, but still it refuses to support the move."

While the Government fails to see the need for the line to be re-opened, Portishead residents who work in the city of Bristol sit in queues of traffic for hours each day to get in and out of the town on their way to and from work.

Sue Palmer, a daily commuter to the city said: "If Gordon Brown thinks we don't have the need for the railway he should come and sit in the traffic queues we have to sit in every day, I'm sure he would soon change his mind."

Campaigners say the line would cost little more than £3 million to re-open and believe much of that could come from funds from deals with developers in the area.

Land has already been reserved for a station in the town and a car park next to Waitrose has been built specifically with the railway in mind.

Further details of the Portishead Railway Group can be found by visiting www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org.