Marsh Barton station work has started at last
CONSTRUCTION work on a new railway station at Marsh Barton in Exeter – which should be open by the end of 2022 – has begun.
The proposed station will have two platforms, with the eastern and western platforms served by trains to Newton Abbot and Exeter, respectively. Each platform will be 124 metres in length, sufficient to accommodate trains formed of up to five cars.
Each platform will have a waiting shelter, containing 12 stainless steel seats with arm rests, and a perch rail for four passengers, as well as one ticket vending machine on each platform.
Devon County Council has designed the station, located at Clapperbrook Lane East, having worked closely with Network Rail and GWR. The station, when open, will provide sustainable transport access to Marsh Barton, one of the key employment areas of the city where more than 7,000 people work.
The station at Marsh Barton is a core element of the Devon Metro rail strategy for Exeter and is central to supporting economic growth to the south-west of Exeter and to the Marsh Barton employment area itself, as well as Dawlish and Newton Abbot.
The project, which has been ‘in the pipeline’ for several years, will also include the development of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which will connect to the station and will improve active travel links between Alphington, Marsh Barton and the Riverside Valley Park.
From the end of May, Clapperbrook Lane East will be closed to vehicular traffic for around 16 months, although it will remain open for pedestrians and cyclists. A signed diversion route will be in place via Water Lane to enable vehicular access to the Double Locks pub.
The new station will be served by the current half-hourly service on the Paignton to Exmouth line and will be adjacent to the Energy from Waste plant at Marsh Barton, close to Clapperbrook Lane East.