DUE to heavy rain and flood waters, Network Rail has had to close the North Devon (Tarka) line this morning, Monday, November 24.

The route is from Exeter to Barnstaple and is used by many students travelling to and from Exeter College at peak times.

Okehampton Rail line services are not affected.

GWR information page will show the numbers for bus routes where ticket acceptance has been arranged.

It is hoped that a ticket scheme acceptable will be in place on all bus routes in the near future but it has been explained that this takes time to put in place.

It is understood that high river levels have triggered the closure.

The Tarka Line, which is used by hundreds of people each week to get to college and work as well as shoppers and tourists, was recently out of action for eight days after Network Rail detected water exceeding the threshold for closure at three bridges and viaducts en route, triggering an automatic closure “for the safety of customers”.

The bridges had to be checked by divers to see if they were safe after the water went down.

North Devon MP Ian Roome has launched a petition to take the fight to Westminster after ongoing problems on the Tarka Line which were “totally unacceptable” he said, claiming that residents had been left with “a second class service”.

People who regularly use the hugely popular service, which sees around 800,000 passenger journeys a year, say they frequently experience delays or cancellations on the line and are calling for it to be made more resilient.

North Devon MP Ian Roome has launched a petition to take the fight to Westminster after ongoing problems on the Tarka Line which were “totally unacceptable” he said, claiming that residents had been left with “a second class service”.

Mr Roome said this was “far from a sleepy little train line but was bursting with passengers and vital to the economy”.

And he added: “If we had an effective reliable service people will no longer have to drive to Tiverton Parkway to catch the train onto London.

“I am pushing for structural improvements, additional train carriages to deal with persistent overcrowding, additional drainage work, longer platforms at some stations en route and more passing places along the single track line so the train timetable can be improved,” he said.

“This is one of the most successful train lines in the country in terms of passenger numbers and we will be lobbying the rail minister to put it at the top of his agenda. It’s time to future proof the Tarka Line.”

David Northey, chair of the North Devon Line Rail Promotion Group, recently said changing the line status to “critical infrastructure” would help in future developments and give Network Rail the impetus to focus and help secure funding for further monitoring and bridge protection on the most vulnerable sections of the line.

Tim Steer, chair of Railfuture in Devon and Cornwall, said the various issues on the line in recent weeks were due to its “Victorian infrastructure” but overcrowding was also an issue.

Ian Roome’s petition can be found at: Future-Proof the Tarka Line – Ian Roome MP.