THE name of a second railway station for Okehampton has been revealed as “Okehampton Interchange”.
The new station will have a larger car park than the first, improved bus links and better foot and bicycle access to cater for the number of visitors and commuters.
It will be located on the eastern edge of the town. The original station is on the southern edge.
The new station will be built on the Dartmoor Line with more than £13 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The Dartmoor Line, which operates between Exeter and Okehampton via Crediton, was reopened in 2021 almost 50 years after regular passenger services were withdrawn.
More than 550,000 passengers used it in the first two years since it reopened.
“The popularity of the Dartmoor Line has been phenomenal,” Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport Cllr Andrea Davis said.
"The Okehampton Interchange will broaden its appeal further still, opening up rail access to wider areas of West Devon, Dartmoor and North Cornwall.
“The convenient location of Okehampton Interchange will encourage even more people to take up sustainable travel and the name of the station reflects the integration of rail, bus, cycling and walking links to the station.”
Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon and Work and Pensions Secretary, described the station as “another step in the history of the very successful reopening of the Okehampton to Exeter rail line”.
He said: “Following recent confirmation of £13.5 million in government Levelling Up Funding the naming of our new station is the first step for a project that will benefit thousands of local people in Okehampton and surrounding communities.”
GWR Regional Growth Manager David Whiteway added: “The new Okehampton Interchange will build on the massive success that the reopening of the Dartmoor Line has already had, better connecting people with jobs, students with education services, and leisure opportunities for all – providing valuable support for the community and local economies.”
Another line between Tavistock and Plymouth is also set to be built. It could eventually provide another route north of Dartmoor from Exeter to Plymouth and beyond.