AT A joint meeting of Connect Bude and the Bude and Stratton Rain Reinstatement Working Group, held at the Parkhouse Centre on March 20, the date of the Royal Oke special train excursion from Okehampton to Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon was confirmed as Saturday, April 21, writes Christine Williams.

On that day a high-speed train with 518 seats, both standard and first class, will depart from Okehampton station at 7.10am. It will arrive at Oxford at 10.26am and Stratford-upon-Avon at 11.32am.

The return train will leave Stratford at 4.13pm and Oxford at 5.20pm, arriving back in Okehampton at 8.45pm.

The standard adult fare will be £47.50 and £27.50 for children. The first class fare will be £85 for adults and £55 for children. Expressions of interest from local residents can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected] and anyone interested in using a connecting coach service from Marhamchurch, Bude, Stratton, Holsworthy and Halwill Junction should contact [email protected] or call 01288 361 878 for further information.

This train, which is being run for the people in the area who would benefit from the reopening of the line, has aroused great interest and enthusiasm.

Mike Moore, Bude Connect’s treasurer and membership secretary, told the meeting, with Richard Wolfenden-Brown in the chair, that they now had 65 members and 34 supporters.

Richard said that despite the bitterly cold weather, a pop-up membership drive had taken place in Bude’s Triangle the previous Saturday morning.

Further similar events would be held in Holsworthy and Halwill.

It had been hoped that Conservative MP for North Cornwall, Scott Mann, would attend the meeting, but in his absence it was agreed to send a number of questions to him.

Cllr Peter Moores, mayor of Bude and Stratton, expressed his disappointment that in Mr Mann’s ‘Views from the Commons’ reported in the Post on March 15, he had mentioned that the transport secretary had reassured him that the resilience of the Dawlish line was his ‘number one national priority’, but there was not a word about the complementary northern route in Cornwall via Okehampton.

Cllr Lesley Moores said the government was ‘acting like King Canute’ in trying to hold back the waves at Dawlish.

Dr Michael Ireland of OkeRail said he would be meeting Mel Stride MP and would seek an update on the Okehamp­ton line. He also felt Mr Mann should be asked about connectivity, namely about a coach service from Bude and Holsworthy to Okehampton station and Mike Moore said he should be asked about connecting Bude with Bodmin Parkway station.

Mr Wolfenden-Brown agreed to write to Mr Mann and invite him to a joint meeting of Connect Bude and Bude-Stratton Town Council.