New era as Dartmoor Railway moves from heritage to main line
THE Dartmoor Railway Supporters’ Association (DRSA) has expressed its delight at the £40.5 million Government grant to finance the reinstatement of regular main line services between Okehampton and Exeter.
The 15½-mile single-track route between Coleford Junction west of Crediton and Meldon Quarry is a surviving remnant of the Southern Railway’s Exeter-Tavistock-Plymouth main line owned by quarry operator Aggregate Industries Ltd, and previously ran as the Dartmoor Railway, a heritage line formed in 1977.
Both the Dartmoor and Weardale railways were taken over by Ealing Community Transport (ECT), a London-based social enterprise founded in 1979. When ECT pulled out of rail operations in 2008, the lines were acquired by British American Railway Services (BARS), a subsidiary of US-based Iowa Pacific Holdings. BARS hosted the UK’s first ‘Polar Express’ trips on the Dartmoor and Weardale railway.
Background
As highlighted in issue 263, Iowa Pacific went into receivership in 2019, and the Dartmoor Railway Community Interest Company (DRCIC), which also ran cream tea services and other commercial event trains from Okehampton, went into administration in February 2020.
The last scheduled BR passenger train from Okehampton to Exeter ran on June 5, 1972, although there has been a summer Sunday service since 1997.
The grant is the first to be awarded under the Government’s Restoring Your Railway Beeching reversal fund announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on January 28 last year, following the Conservative Party’s landslide election win.
The route will be operated by Great Western Railway and branded as The Dartmoor Line. Initially the service will be two-hourly (eight trains a day), upgrading to hourly in 2022.
Ironically, the line is making the transition from being a heritage railway to part of the main line passenger network half a century after Dart Valley Railway plc began operating the Paignton to Kingswear branch, which was bought directly out of BR service, making it the first part of the UK passenger network to be privatised.
The investment announcement coincided with the 150th anniversary of the railway first arriving in Okehampton in 1871
DRSA secretary Jon Kelsey said: “DRSA is delighted about the announcement of the reinstatement; the culmination of a campaign which has always had our support. It is tremendous news for Okehampton and the surrounding ‘railway desert’ of West Devon and North Cornwall.”
The association – which was unconnected with the DRCIC and has no responsibility for commitments made by it – is now looking into the possibility of running a shorter heritage service between Okehampton and Meldon Quarry.
However, Jon said it was too early to comment on the possibility.
“While it is an aspiration for DRSA, currently it depends on third party decisions beyond our control,” he said. “We are in communication with the major players, and eager to explore any opportunities which may arise.”
Fleet
The DRSA owns four vehicles, a Mk.1 BSK, a Mk.2 FK, a 1942-built LMS brake van and a 1948-built SR brake van, all of which will be staying on the line. DRCIC stock is being sold by RMS Locotec, and details can be found on the website www.rmslocotec.com/for-sale
They include Class 205 ‘Thumper’ DEMU and Class 411 EMU vehicles, some described as operational, and several Mk.2 and Mk.3 vehicles and wagons. Aggregate Industries owned two diesel shunters, while there were other privately owned vehicles on the railway.
Since the beginning of 2020, working in partnership with Great Western Railway, Network Rail
has been conducting detailed investigations to understand what infrastructure and railway control system improvements are needed to bring the line up to the required standards.
Now that the green light has been received and investigations have been completed, Network Rail engineers have begun undertaking a range of works including drainage, fencing and earthworks, and will relay more than 11 miles of track, replace 24,000 concrete sleepers and install nearly 29,000 tonnes of ballast before running test trains.
Improvements will also be made to Okehampton station, including installing a ticket vending machine, a help point, public address system, information screens, CCTV and free WiFi.
A pay-and-display car park will be introduced with dedicated disabled bays, and the station building and platform will be made fully accessible.
Grant Shapps said: “The return of all-year services to the picturesque Dartmoor Line for the first time in half a century is a milestone moment in our efforts to restore our railways.
“Reversing lost railway connections breathes new life into our high streets, drives tourism and investment in businesses and housing, and opens new opportunities for work and education.”
Christian Irwin, Network Rail’s industry programme director, said: “We are excited by the numerous benefits the reopening of this railway will bring to Okehampton and surrounding areas, and we are now fully focussed on undertaking the necessary engineering work required to prepare this line for the return of regular passenger services.
Delivery
“We are grateful to our partners and supporters who are helping make this a realisation and would like to thank residents living near the railway for their patience while we ramp up activity.”
GWR expects to introduce passenger services by the end of 2021 with trains running every two hours, seven day a week.
Great Western managing director Mark Hopwood said: “We are pleased that the case we made to Government for this important local line has been so compelling that this is one of the first of the Government’s Restoring Your Railway reopening projects to get the green light.
“Returning regular, daily services to this line has been a long-held ambition of ours.”
A separate bid under the Restoring Your Railway programme has been lodged by the Tavistock Okehampton Reopening Scheme (TORS) to fully reopen the line from Exeter via Tavistock and Okehampton to Plymouth, thereby providing a second main line to south Devon and Cornwall, which would combine with local bus services radiating from a transit hub in Okehampton.
Journeys
TORS claims that connecting buses to and from Okehampton will cut public transport journey times from Padstow to Okehampton by more than two hours, and almost 2½ hours to Exeter.
There would be additional journey time savings to towns such as Bideford and Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Bude, Camelford and Wadebridge, as well as by rail to Torbay, with a 62-minute saving between Tavistock and Paignton.