THE Conservative MP for North Cornwall said he is ‘wholly supportive’ of the campaign to bring back rail passenger services to Okehampton, after the Transport Secretary reiterated his support for the project in the House of Commons last week.

The Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling in the House of Commons last Wednesday, November 29, announced the publication of ‘Connecting people: a strategic vision for rail’, which he said ‘explains how we will create a new generation of regional rail operations with a relentless focus on the passengers, economies and communities they serve’.

He said: “It represents the biggest change to the delivery of rail services since privatisation.”

Mr Grayling told colleagues: “One of the routes on which we intend to start passenger services again — and we are actively engaged in that work — is the line from Okehampton to Exeter. I think that has the potential to ease congestion at Exeter, and to provide a better commuter route.”

A public consultation on the Great Western rail franchise has been launched, seeking views on how services can be improved and what a future franchisee should be expected to prioritise.

The document from the Department for Transport states: “Although passengers’ experience of the Great Western franchise will continue to be transformed in 2018 and 2019, we need to look further into the future and begin to plan now for the improvements that will be needed in the 2020s.”

The current franchise is due to expire in March 2019, but the Department for Transport said a change of franchise operator is ‘best avoided at this time, as it falls in the midst of a major programme of change’. It intends to exercise its contractual option to extend the current franchise for a further twelve months, and to begin discussions with the current franchise operator with a view to it continuing to operate the franchise for a further two years — for example until March 2022.

It has also been considering whether the franchise should be retained in its current form, or whether passengers’ interests would be best served by splitting it into two (or potentially more) separate franchises. It is inviting views on a specific proposal for a possible two-way split and, subject to the outcome of the consultation, it could require the current franchisee to undertake the necessary preparations during the franchise period up to 2022 for a subsequent split.

The Department for Transport said it would consider how the specification for the next franchise can best support the development of locally promoted enhancement schemes, focusing on those proposals that meet a clearly identified local need, and that have realistic prospects of being prioritised by local funders and offering good value for money. These, it said, include the scheme to start regular, year-round passenger services between Okehampton and Exeter, including a possible new station at Okehampton Parkway, as part of the wider ‘Devon Metro’ concept. The Department for Transport will request proposals from the current franchisee to trial an all-week, year-round service on the Okehampton route.

Mr Mann said: “I’m very pleased to see the Government outlining its vision for the future of our railways and its proposals to improve the Great Western franchise.

“Cornwall and Devon is seeing tens of millions of pounds of investment, including new intercity trains which will increase seat numbers by 20 per cent and achieve faster journeys, a new refurbished sleeper service, overhauled signalling which will allow more trains between Plymouth and Penzance, and work by Network Rail to make the Dawlish line more resilient from the sea and cliffs.

“I am wholly supportive of the campaign to bring back passenger services to Okehampton, as this would open up North Devon and North Cornwall to more transport links for local people and visitors, and I was very pleased to hear the Transport Secretary reiterating his support for the project in the Commons.

“The consultation document on the region’s rail franchise is very important to making sure that it delivers better services into the future, and I’d like to encourage rail users and business owners in Cornwall to visit the DfT website and submit their feedback.”

The consultation closes on February 21. The public can respond to the consultation online at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RJ00Y/ or via www.gov.uk/government/consultations/great-western-rail-franchise, where the document is available to view; by completing a response form available to download and emailing it to [email protected], or by writing to Great Western Franchise Consultation, Department for Transport, Zone 4/19, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR.