A GWENT man is launching a campaign to get a new railway station opened in his town.

Luke Dearden, 21, ofMagor, says the area is booming and better transport links are needed to both encourage people to visit the area and make it easier for residents to get to places like Newport and Cardiff without having to drive or use several buses.

The town’s railway station was closed in 1964 as part of a restructure of British railways which saw thousands of miles of track ripped up and 2,000 stations close across the UK.

It was demolished in 2003 and a company called Turner Hydraulics now operates from the site.

But Mr Dearden says there is now a pressing need for the link to be reinstated and hopes to start a petition to demonstrate local support for the scheme.

He said: “I think there is call for this to be there, a few years ago 1,500 people signed a petition for a new one.

“We have got a business park in Magor and it’s expanding and there’s lots of shops. It’s not just for people coming in – with a railway people can get to where they need to be.

“I urge Network Rail to look at it.”

The warehouse worker and aspiring actor said residents’ nearest station is more than three miles away, at Severn Tunnel Junction.

A spokeswoman for Network Rail said a previous aspiration to re-open Magor railway station was made by the South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) but it was not pursued.

She said Network Rail welcomed aspirations that help to improve the railway and encourage stakeholders, who are keen to invest in its stations, to look at its investment in railway guidelines.

This gives anyone proposing to re-open a station an overview of the company’s policy in and the initial steps which need to be taken in studying the feasibility of a project and identifying funding options.

Sewta was unavailable for comment.