WITH the fight to bring a full time rail service back to Okehampton and campaigners looking for any evidence to support their cause, information on how to make sure you’re aboard a special one-off train from Okehampton to Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon has been revealed.

Plans have been afoot for several months to deliver the special Royal Oke train on April 21 as part of the ongoing campaign to convince the Government to bring a regular passenger service back to the town.

The train leaves Okehampton at 7.10am with a return service arriving back in the town at 8.45pm. With the weekend being the closest to the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23, it should be a good time to visit Stratford-upon-Avon, with music, pageantry and drama on the streets of the town.

The train is similar to a train journey organised from Okehampton to London in 2017. The aim of both the 2017 and 2018 trains is to show an appetite for rail services in Okehampton — since the turn of the year, secretary of state for transport Chris Grayling has confirmed the government has instructed Great Western Railway ‘to prepare plans to introduce regular train services to Okehampton, with the objective of securing a credible and costed plan for delivering an all-week, all-year train service between Exeter and Okehampton as soon as reasonably practicable’.

Great West Railway is sending representatives from their management team to assess public support for the line. Councillors will also get the chance to put their case forward for better rail connectivity. Devon County Council will have senior members aboard and it is hoped North Cornwall councillors will also attend.

The town’s MP Mel Stride has welcomed the planned trains. Mr Stride said: ‘The special Royal Oke train to London last year was a brilliant event that gave local residents a memorable day and was a key opportunity for me to meet the rail minister with local campaigners when we arrived.

‘It did a great deal to promote the campaign for the return of a rail service. I have no doubt that a second special trip will be equally successful.’

There has been enthusiasm from across the region for the possibility of rail services returning to Okehampton. Communities such as Bude and Holsworthy have had involvement with the OkeRail campaign to get the line reinstated, so that swathes of North Cornwall and North Devon have much better connectivity to the nation’s rail network.

Closer to home, the Hatherleigh community have gotten widely behind the push for rail services. A 53 seater bus service is being organised so residents of Hatherleigh can join in on the train. The cost of the coach has been subsidised thanks to an OkeRail coffee morning held in Hatherleigh. There is also a plan for Hatherleigh and Bude residents to have their own carriages to visually indicate the support from communities outside of Okehampton.

The bus is first come first served, with places available to book at Hatherleigh Visitor Centre on the corner of Market Square on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm.

There are first class and second class tickets available on the HST train with Pullman dining and buffet facilities, only bookable online. Visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/239687 for first class tickets, and www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/239689 for second class. Find out more on campaigning group OkeRail’s Facebook page.