A REPORT looking at how to improve the South West’s rail network has been described as a ‘huge step forward’ in bringing the railway back to Okehampton.

The Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF) has been looking at how to improve the South West’s rail network following the storms at Dawlish in 2014 that led to the closure of the rail line into Devon and Cornwall.

The task force has published interim plans for improving the region’s rail network in its report ‘On Track — the 20 year plan interim report’.

In this report, the PRTF highlights a three point plan — a resilient and reliable railway, reduced journey times to improve connectivity to and from the South West peninsula, and sufficient capacity, quality and comfort.

The northern route through Okehampton is described as being ‘crucial’ to the capacity and quality aspect of the three-point plan.

Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon, said: ‘This report is a huge step forward in making the northern route happen.

‘Thousands of my constituents in and around Okehampton are 20 miles or more away from a rail station and this route will make a huge difference. Only having one rail route into Devon and Cornwall is undoubtedly holding the region’s economic development back. The focus now is to ensure that investment in the route happens sooner rather than later.’

The PTRF report states that the northern route through Okehampton creates ‘potential for growth creation that warrants further investigation, providing better direct rail access to employment, education and retail areas in Plymouth and Exeter. The route also has the potential to provide a diversionary capability, increasing the resilience of the network’.

The task force is suggesting an in-depth assessment in 2016 to consider the wider benefits of the Okehampton route to consider the uplift in the area’s gross value added (GVA) — the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area — as well as improved connectivity, environ-mental and freight opportunities.

The final report by the PTRF, which is made up of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset’s county councils; The Heart of the South West and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnerships; and Torbay and Plymouth city councils, is to be published next year and will turn its key findings into a programme of work that would transform rail connectivity for the region.

In the suggested hypothetical timeline for work on rail projects in the region, the report suggests that work begins on the Okehampton line in the 2025-2029 phase of development.

Dr Michael Ireland is an Okehampton town councillor, a member of the PRTF and a long-term campaigner and advocate for the return of the railway to Okehampton. Cllr Dr Ireland and Chris Bligh, rail adviser to town council working party Destination Okehampton made a detailed submission to the PRTF on September 18 emphasising the need for work to start sooner.

He said: ‘The key issue for us was to emphasise the importance of the route being part of the 2019-2024 phase of the plan and not part of the 2025-2029 phase. A five year delay would not be acceptable.’

Okehampton’s county councillor Kevin Ball has also pledged to continue lobbying the Government and Network Rail on the issue, raising it personally with Rail Minister Claire Perry at the recent Conservative Party Conference.

l What are your thoughts on the railway returning to Okehampton? Should the Government invest millions into improving the region’s railways? Would you use the train if it passed through Okehampton?

Write us an e-mail at timesletters@tindlenews. co.uk or send a letter to Okehampton Times, The Ockment Centre, North Street, Okehampton, EX20 1AR.