WHEN special visitors are due to arrive, it usually means a good spruce up to be polished and clean. It was just the same at Crediton Railway Station where the first of the new Okehampton passenger service trains came through on Saturday, November 20.

That service has been achieved through more than £40 million investment by the Government under its Restoring Your Railway scheme, bringing the Okehampton - Exeter service back to life.

The line had been closed 50 years ago by the infamous Dr Beeching. It is the first in the country to be restored to use for regular passenger trains. In the first week that tickets went on sale, more than 400 were sold for the first day service.

Network Rail had re-built the railway in record time - nine months, including laying 11 miles of new track, installing 24,000 concrete sleepers and 29,000 tonnes of ballast.

Repairs have been made to 21 structures including four bridges and a range of other work including clearing vegetation, earth and drainage works and fencing.

It has restored a former freight railway to regular passenger services and come in at £10 million under budget.

Two new flower tubs were delivered to Crediton, filled with soil by a team from Greenman Environmental Management who look after all the stations for GWR from Penzance to the centre of London.

An Elaeagnus plant went in the centre of each surrounded by Skimmia and grey Calocephalus with bulbs being planted by members of Crediton Garden Club.

Network Rail is responsible for maintaining and decorating the canopy and GWR for decorating and maintaining the other buildings.

Work began about five weeks ago and, because trains were still running, painting the canopy over the platform meant equipment being moved off the track while the trains went through and then back again for painting to continue.

The old concrete panel wall beside part of Platform Two, the Barnstaple side, has been cleaned and painted. Flower beds tidied and everything cleaned up and, if it stood still, painted.

The Devon County Council-owned Park and Ride car park has been cleared, trees cut back. Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership is also involved.

Mike Szabo, Crediton Town Council’s appointed representative to the Friends of Crediton Station, said that the concrete wall had been made by the Exmouth Cement Company who had supplied all the concrete items when the station was built more than 150 years ago.

This has been cleaned and painted with the whole station looking spic and span and ready to receive visitors from the new rail service or at the very least, will look really good while the train has a short halt there.

Mike Szabo commented: “Once the crews arrived about five weeks ago the station became a whirlwind of activity. I was well impressed by the people and their contractors, they really got on with things.”