MEMBERS of Connect Bude action group received encouraging news at a meeting at the Falcon Hotel last Tuesday, February 19, writes Christine Williams.

They were told that Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, had said on a recent visit to Devon: “We want to bring regular trains back to Okehampton and we recognise local aspirations for an Okehampton to Plymouth line.”

Dr Michael Ireland of Okerail said the Minister’s words were consistent with the findings of surveys he had conducted over the past eleven years in the former ‘rail corridor’ to the west of Okehampton towards Bude. These showed that while the car was currently their preference, 90.9% of respondents had expressed interest in using a re-established passenger train service. This would depend on free parking at Okehampton, the cost of the return fare being equal or less than using the car and a fast journey time to Exeter. This potential market was contingent on the building of a ‘Parkway Station’ to the east of Okehampton with good access from the A30 and with an integrated timetable of coach and train connections.

Use of the trains for shopping and leisure accounted for over half of all journeys and a secondary market could be holiday travel. The potential for commuters to Exeter was currently limited, but could be developed once a regular train service had been established. In contrast, train travel to London would be popular with one third of all respondents.

Dr Ireland commented it was unfortunate that it had taken eight years for the Department of Transport to reach similar conclusions.

An Okerail coffee morning at Hatherleigh on February 12 had raised £176 which would be used to reduce the cost of travel on Sunday trains on the Okehampton line. Posters for this service between May and September were being prepared and would soon be displayed.

Chairman, Richard Wolfenden Brown drew attention to recent disclosures that HS2 will cost £403-million per mile, making it the most expensive railway on earth. He said such a sum would be sufficient to restore the railway from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock with a branch to Holsworthy. The meeting ended with a show of hands and there was a unanimous vote for HS2 to be abandoned and for the money to be invested in improving railways countrywide.