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Paul Martin, duty manager, at Okehampton station with Percy, the station cat
Paul Martin, duty manager, at Okehampton station with Percy, the station cat. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian
Paul Martin, duty manager, at Okehampton station with Percy, the station cat. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

'People felt cut off': talk of reopening railway line sparks hope in Devon

This article is more than 6 years old

Residents of Okehampton welcome news that service that was discontinued as part of Beeching cuts in 1960s may be restored

Romantically minded railway enthusiasts in the West Country town of Okehampton dream of a bygone era when services such as the Atlantic Coast Express and the Devon Belle rattled through.

More pragmatic types would simply be glad of a regular service that will allow them to travel by rail to the cities of Exeter or Plymouth – and on into the national rail network – and avoid car journeys that are tricky at the best of times and can be downright traumatic when the roads are packed with holidaymakers.

The wishes of the pragmatists, at least, may at last have been heard in Westminster. The government announced this week that it may restore some of the rail services lost following the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.

In a paper called Connecting People: A Strategic Vision for Rail, the Department for Transport said the line between Exeter and Okehampton was one of those being looked at.

An early photograph hangs at Okehampton station. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Okehampton’s deputy mayor, Michael Ireland, who vividly remembers catching the trains from the town to the seaside as a boy, was delighted. “People felt cut off when the service stopped. It affected the economy and employment, but also the psychological wellbeing of the place.”

Ireland has campaigned for reinstatement of the service for a decade. “It will be good not just for Okehampton but huge parts of west Devon and north Cornwall,” he said. “I’m very, very optimistic that this is going to happen.”

Regular passenger services between Okehampton and Exeter ceased in 1972.

A Southern Railways poster for the Devon Belle, which boasted an observation car on its Ilfracombe service. Photograph: Alamy

There was nevertheless a sense of bustle at Okehampton station this week as volunteers from the heritage Dartmoor Railway prepared for their festive train event. A 60-year-old former British Rail class 31 diesel hauls carriages packed with excited children from Okehampton three miles down the track to a quarry that – spoiler alert – stands in for Christmas Town.

Paul Martin, one of the volunteers, welcomed the government’s announcement. “It’s logical – the congestion on the A30 especially in the summer is terrible. It would be great if you could commute into Exeter for work.” But he remains a little cynical. “We’ve heard it so many times,” he said.

They know their railway history here. Former British Rail driver Graham Isom turned out to be a surprising defender of Richard Beeching. “He has been blamed for all the closures. But you have to look at who the transport minister was.” It was Ernest Marples, the founder of the road construction company Marples Ridgeway. “He wanted roads, not railways. Simple as that.”

Beeching cuts map

Isom’s wife, Marion, was helping out at the cosy station cafe, where station cat Percy was curled up underneath a radiator. Ironically, they have to commute by car across Devon to reach Okehampton for their volunteering duties. “It would be lovely if they reopened all these lines,” she said. “Everyone loves these old lines, don’t they?”

Jeff and Sue Knight, hikers who arrived shivering after tramping over a frozen Dartmoor, agreed. “When we go walking in Switzerland you can catch a train to all kinds of lovely out-of-the-way places,” said Mr Knight. “That’s so much harder in Devon and Cornwall.”

Alex, a 19-year-old who lives in a village near Okehampton, said the lack of a rail service left youngsters feeling isolated. “We’re only 20 miles from Exeter, but it’s as though you’re at the end of the world. Having no train reduces the choices for everything – shopping, nights out, even college.”

The Exeter to Okehampton line opened in 1871 after a slight delay blamed on engineering and money problems. Nine years later, a new route was opened that veered south to the town of Tavistock and then on to Plymouth.

Old 50s-style British Railways poster for the Atlantic Coast Express on the Swanage steam railway
Old 50s-style British Railways poster for the Atlantic Coast Express on the Swanage steam railway. Photograph: Alamy

The Atlantic Coast Express operated from London via the Okehampton line to the Cornish resorts of Bude and Padstow from the 1920s, and the Devon Belle’s luxury service ran from 1947-54.

Then came the Beeching cuts.

The townsfolk of Okehampton celebrated the centenary of the line in the summer of 1971 and saw it close eight months later. A wreath was attached to the final train.

Happily for those who hope the service will be restored, the line was not ripped up. It continued to be used for quarry trucks and the occasional military special to and from the camp on Dartmoor.

Then the revival began. The Dartmoor Railway began to run its heritage services on 15 miles of the line and on summer Sundays a limited Great Western Railway passenger service operates between Okehampton and Exeter, subsidised by Devon county council. In the other direction, however, the line ends before the wrought-iron Meldon viaduct.

Devon county council has worked hard to keep the dream of restoring the Okehampton and Tavistock lines alive. Plans are afoot to build a new Okehampton Parkway station. The council has also been purchasing sections of the old track bed between Plymouth and Tavistock. Linking Tavistock to Okehampton looks less likely in the immediate future.

John Hart, the leader of Devon county council, welcomed the announcement. He described how his wife used to catch the train from north Devon to Okehampton as a girl. “It was the only way to get to grammar school. Now we need a regular service from Okehampton to Exeter. I’m convinced it will be well-used.”

  • This article was amended on 4 December 2017 to clarify that the Devon Belle’s observation car only ran on its Ilfracombe service; and to correct the statement that the Devon Belle’s luxury service ran in the 1960s – it ran from 1947-54.

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