Complex sentence: Despite a great deal of local opposition the town lost its rail service in 1969, as part of the controversial Beeching Axe and is now said to be the farthest large town from a railway station in the United Kingdom.
Split into simpler sentences: Despite a great deal of local opposition, the town lost its rail service in 1969, as part of the controversial Beeching Axe. It is now said to be the farthest large town from a railway station in the United Kingdom.