A REGULAR passenger rail service to Okehampton via Crediton is set to be restored, the Government has confirmed.

It is hoped that the reopening of the line between Okehampton and Exeter will prove to bring further economic and transport benefits to Crediton.

Details of the reopening of the line was included in the November Government Comprehensive Spending Review and the National Infrastructure Strategy.

It included the government’s commitment to restoring the service for the first time since regular Okehampton to Exeter passenger services were withdrawn on June 5, 1972, although since 1997 a limited service has run between Okehampton and Exeter on Sundays during the summer.

A spokesman for OkeRail said: “After weeks of not being able to say anything, the confirmation that the government are restoring the passenger service was in the spending review.

“On page 41, Restoring your Railway, it states that the government will also deliver on its manifesto commitment to spend £500 million to restore transport services previously lost in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, including reopening the Ashington-Blyth line in Northumberland to passenger services, and restoring rail links to Okehampton in Devon.

“The government has also launched a New Ideas Fund to pay for feasibility work on proposals for new lines and stations.

COMMITMENT

“Now while this IS only one sentence, do not underestimate the significance. It is the government’s commitment to the service. More information about when the service will start, will follow in the coming weeks while work is being carried out now on the line by Network Rail to prepare the infrastructure.”

Cllr Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “This is fantastic news and extremely welcome as we look to support the recovery of the county’s economy.

"We have had a long-standing commitment to re-introduce regular rail services to Okehampton, and behind the scenes we’ve been lobbying and closely working with Network Rail, GWR and local partners to give this project the best chance of becoming a reality. It has been a great example of collaborative working from all involved.

“I’m pleased to see that the Department for Transport has backed our collective view that this line deserves support. The County Council has invested a huge amount of time and money into keeping the line alive with the Summer service and also carrying out the study which provides the groundwork for developing plans for this project. I’m sure the local community will be delighted this scheme is getting Government backing.”

INSTRUMENTAL

Central Devon MP Mel Stride has been instrumental in pushing for the reopening of the line.

He has held approximately 50 meetings with Government ministers, local councillors, campaigners, and representatives from Great Western Railway and Network Rail to secure a regular passenger rail service between Okehampton and Exeter via Crediton.

He also held meetings to ensure smaller stations such as Sampford Courtenay and Newton St Cyres as well as major stations along the route would be included.

Mel met with key figures involved in the campaign for reinstatement of the regular service first in February 2011, has met rail ministers, walked part of the line with the Secretary of State for the Environment, lobbied the Chancellor of the Exchequer, lobbied the Secretary of State for Transport and the Transport Minister.

Cllr Kevin Ball, who represents the Okehampton ward, added that the line would benefit everyone in West Devon, not just those in around the Okehampton area, and that after many false hopes it was confirmation that it would happen.

Cllr Nick Way, the County Councillor for Crediton, said: “Good news indeed. At long last the government has made a commitment for the introduction of this service.

“We have been working for this for many years and rail groups need to be congratulated, particularly the community-based OkeRail Forum for their part in this campaign.

“The government now need to be held to its word, reveal more of the details including the expected timetable for the implementation of this project. Dependent on the level of the service to be provided, including the existing Barnstaple trains, it should mean a half-hourly train service in and out of Exeter during peak times for Crediton.

“I will be continuing to press the rail authorities for station stops at Yeoford and Newton St Cyres to be included in this new service.”

= = = = = = = =

Key contributions made by Mel Stride MP to the Okehampton to Exeter Rail Service

February 2011

Mel meets with key local figures in Okehampton, including Dartmoor Railway’s Operations Manager, to put a campaign plan in place to bring a regular passenger rail service back between Okehampton and Exeter. Mel subsequently lobbies in person the directors of the American company which owns much of the railway track.

March 2014

Mel presses the case for the service in the House of Commons, with the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin commissioning Network Rail to undertake a study to identify options for providing a resilient rail route west of Exeter.

April 2014

Mel organises Rail Minister Claire Perry to visit Okehampton and meet with him and local campaigners to listen first-hand to the arguments for the service.

October 2014

Mel organises Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin to visit Okehampton and to walk the rail track out to Meldon Viaduct with him to see the rail infrastructure already in place along the proposed route. During the visit Mel presses the four main arguments for the service – the lack of rail access for thousands of residents in and around Okehampton, the boost the service would provide to the local economy, the environmental benefits of taking cars off the A30 and the benefits of not relying solely on the Dawlish Line for rail connectivity beyond Exeter.

February 2016

Mel secures a meeting with the most senior Government minister to date, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. Mel makes a strong case for the introduction of the service on economic grounds, while also citing concerns over funding for a key Peninsula Rail Task Force Report that will shape the future of rail development in the South West.

July 2016

Mel holds one of many meetings with local county and borough councillors in and around Okehampton – this time in Hatherleigh – to discuss how other transport links can be organised to connect with the rail service – such as bus services from Hatherleigh to Okehampton.

March 2017

Mel joins local campaigners on board the first Pullman train in almost half a century to travel directly from Okehampton to London Paddington. The special one off event, organised by Okehampton’s County Councillor, aimed to promote the service and, with the train selling out, demonstrate the commercial demand for rail services from Okehampton. Mel organised for Rail Minister Paul Maynard to welcome the train at Paddington and speak to campaigners about a regular service.

January 2018

A major milestone - Mel secures the first official commitment from the Government to introduce the service from Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, who instructed Great Western Railway to prepare plans to introduce regular train services between Exeter and Okehampton delivering “an all-week, all-year train service as soon as reasonably practicable”.

February 2018

Mel succeeds in getting the Department for Transport to specifically reference an Okehampton to Exeter service in a strategy document outlining its future aspirations for the first time.

March 2018

Mel holds one of many meetings with Great Western Railway representatives, seeking assurances that the smaller stations on the Okehampton to Exeter route will also be included as stops on the route so residents in these communities benefit from the service as well. These include stops such as Sampford Courtenay and Newton St Cyres.

October 2018

Mel organises for the Chairman of OkeRail and Okehampton’s Devon County Councillor to meet with Transport Minister Jo Johnson, who confirmed the Department for Transport was still committed to the project but was reliant on a feasibility study being undertaken by Great Western Railway.

April 2019

Concerned over delays to the feasibility study, due to be completed by the end of 2018, Mel meets with Great Western Railway’s Regional Development Manager, pressing for faster progress.

September 2019

Mel meets with Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP, securing an assurance that the Department for Transport would respond quickly to the feasibility study, when completed, urging the Government to give the service the go ahead in early 2020.

October 2019

Mel meets with Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris MP, securing his help in pushing for further progress with the feasibility study that had been delayed again, fearing that valuable momentum could be lost. Again the Government confirms it remains committed to the project.

November 2020

Mel welcomes the Government’s official go ahead for the service by releasing a National Infrastructure Strategy document alongside the Chancellor’s Autumn Spending Review that included investment in an Okehampton to Exeter service.