THE campaign for Okehampton rail is overdue and welcome!

The Tarka Rail Association, repre-senting users of the increasingly busy Barnstaple to Exeter North Devon ‘Tarka’ railway line, welcomes the setting up of a team by Devon County Council with the clear objective to restore regular passenger train services between Okehampton and Exeter, which ceased in 1972.

With the rebuilding and reopening last September of 35 miles of the former main line between Tweedbank near Galashiels and Edinburgh, closed in 1969. North West Devon and North Cornwall has now replaced the Scottish Borders with the dubious title of the largest ‘Rail Desert’ in Britain.

Incidentally since the re-opening of the Borders Railway the number of passenger journeys has far exceeded all expectations.

One would hope, indeed expect, a worthwhile financial contribution in the next stages of the planned major house building schemes in Okehampton, in a not too dissimilar arrangement to that agreed in Tavistock, which will provide the major part of funds to restore the railway line from Tavistock to Bere Alston, so shortsightedly closed in 1968.

A major advantage to restoration of a regular passenger service is that nearly 13 miles of the 26 miles, which is all operational, between Okehampton and Exeter Central will be shared, pro rata, with infrastructure, operations and management etc. costs of the North Devon, Exmouth, Paddington and Waterloo lines.

In the hopefully not too distant future the Okehampton (Meldon) to Tavistock line will be reinstated and connect with the reopened line to Bere Alston/Plymouth.

This would provide an alternative rail route for when the South Devon route is closed for the expected increasing incidents of waves overtopping the sea walls, causing further disruption to services, and the now all too frequent routine cancellation, in particular, of long distance Cross Country ‘Voyager’ trains between Exeter and Plymouth/Cornwall due salt water damaging their electrics etc.

In addition, this provides an alternative for line closures needed between Exeter and Plymouth for planned infrastructure works, and repairs to the fragile eight miles of coastal and estuary stretches.

This alternative route could also serve West Devon and North Cornwall with a parkway station at Sourton, next to the A30/A386/A3079 road interchange; possibly called Launceston Parkway station.

A reinstated Okehampton—Exeter rail service would also have significant potential benefits; not least sharing and thus reducing costs and public subsidy for the North Devon line, where the demand for frequency, longer trains and reduced journey times continues to grow.

Tony Hill

For and on behalf of Tarka Rail Association