THE return of a daily Okehampton to Exeter train services is becoming a reality with news that £40-million has been included in the new Budget as part of the Government’s ‘Reversing Beeching’ strategy.
The reopening of the line between Okehampton and Exeter had been included as part of the Government Comprehensive Spending Review and the National Infrastructure Strategy, but the further financial commitment to the services brings the return of regular trains a step closer.
Regular Okehampton to Exeter passenger services were withdrawn on June 5, 1972, although since 1997 a limited service has run between Okehampton and Exeter on Sundays during the summer.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 line in the 107 page Budget states ‘This Budget will also unlock more than £40 million of funding to reinstate passenger services on the Okehampton-Exeter line, subject to final approval of costs and contracts. These investments will provide good-quality transport links between communities, and improve employment opportunities across these areas’.
Scott Mann, Conservative MP for North Cornwall, said: “This Budget will unlock more than £40-million of funding to reinstate passenger services on the Okehampton - Exeter line, subject to final approval of costs and contracts.”
He added: “The reopening of a second line to support Cornwall has been a pledge of mine since my first election so I am very pleased that this project has been formalised (subject to final approval) in the budget.
“The Devon MPs and Council have been instrumental in delivering on the Okehampton line, but I would also like to highlight the efforts of the campaign groups Oke Rail, and Connect Bude, who I have worked closely with over the past six years. A second major rail line will have a hugely beneficial effect on North Cornwall, not just in terms of economy and connectivity, but also resilience. I look forward to seeing the project move forward and I will continue to give it my full support.”
Following this positive news, chair of Connect Bude Richard Wolfenden-Brown said: “With the Government now talking openly about ‘reversing Beeching’ and ‘reopening closed railway lines to help connect “left-behind” communities’, Connect Bude has just submitted a bid for £50,000 to the ‘Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund’ in partnership with Bude Climate Partnership and Bude Coastal Community Team, to pay for a feasibility study into extending the line from Okehampton towards Bude. The bid includes written support from all tiers of local and regional government, Great Western Railway, and the three MPs through whose constituencies the proposed line would run: Scott Mann [North Cornwall], Geoffrey Cox [Torridge] and Mel Stride [Central Devon]. The result of the bid will be known in approximately three months.”
He added: “As local people may have noticed, various materials, including sleepers, have already been delivered to Okehampton ready for work to start on bringing the line up to the standard required once the final go-ahead is given.”
While no date for when a regular service is set to start running from, timetables on the RealTimeTrains website at one point showed services beginning from Sunday, May 16, with services running every two hours in each direction.