A once abandoned rail route in Devon has proved a hit with passengers with an average 2,000 journeys made a week since it re-opened in November.
The Dartmoor Line from Exeter to Okehampton re-opened to regular passenger services for the first time in nearly 50 years in November and was the first former line to reopen under the Government’s Restoring Your Railway programme.
Network Rail’s team of engineers delivered a £40million programme to physically reopen the former freight railway line in less than nine months, opening up vital links for local businesses, tourism and greater access to education and work for thousands of residents.
Matt Barnes, GWR Head of Strategic Service Development, said: “Introducing hourly services on the Dartmoor Line has been a key aspiration for the community and the rail industry since the project was launched, and the demand we’ve already seen on the line shows just how important good rail connections are for the community they serve."
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Engineers are planning a two-week programme to upgrade parts of the 14-mile stretch of Dartmoor Line to allow for hourly services from May.
The route currently carries two-hourly Great Western Railway (GWR) passenger services between Okehampton and Exeter.
Along the Dartmoor Line, at Fatherford and Coleford, engineers will be further improving the drainage and track bed to enable faster line speeds ready for the increase to hourly services from mid-May.
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Engineering work is being carried out from April 25 until May 10. During this time, a reduced train service will continue to operate between Exeter and Crediton with a rail replacement bus service in operation between Crediton and Okehampton. Trains services on the Tarka Line between Exeter and Barnstaple will continue to run as usual. Two-hourly train services to Okehampton will resume from Tuesday 10 May, with hourly services starting from Sunday 15 May.
The Dartmoor Line reopened to regular passenger services for the first time in nearly 50 years last November and was the first former line to reopen under the Government’s Restoring Your Railway programme.
Christian Irwin, Network Rail’s Industry Programme Director (South West), said: “These latest upgrades are critical in enabling this important railway line to increase to hourly services –something we had always committed to achieving upon receiving Government funding.
“We have been delighted with how popular the Dartmoor Line has proven to be and we now need to make some further enhancements to parts of the track in order to facilitate increased line speeds which are required to enable hourly services."