There was friction between the new owners and the Commissioners of Sewers. The railway company proposed the creation of a railway between Highbridge and Glastonbury in 1850, and the Somerset Central Railway was authorised by Parliament on 17 June 1852. The canal was transferred to the new company, and was used to speed the construction of the railway, earning £312 in the year ending September 1853. The line followed the route of the canal closely, with much of it built on the towpath. The canal was closed on 1 July 1854, and the lock and aqueducts on the upper section were dismantled. The railway opened on 17 August 1854.