Devon’s erratic services

In recent months, a growing trend has appeared with South Western Railway services west of Salisbury.

If a service reaches Honiton around ten minutes late, it is held until the XX25 departure from Exeter has reached Honiton.

On some occasions, when the Down service finally leaves Honiton around 40 minutes late, it is terminated at Exeter (Central) on arrival. Here, the unit then forms the next Up departure for Waterloo.

Even the recently introduced Great Western Railway 1631 Barnstaple-Axminster is not immune. During a recent strike week, it only ran through to Axminster on one of four possible days of operation.

For anyone travelling to East Devon, this is very frustrating and underlines the dire need for further infrastructure investment between Honiton and Pinhoe.

It is ironic that July marked the second anniversary of the publication of a document proposing infrastructure upgrades to the route. So far, no action has been taken.

D J Tozer, Exeter