Regular trains to run on Dartmoor Line for first time in 50 years
The line links Okehampton to Exeter and will officially reopen to the public on 20 November
Last updated 17th Nov 2021
The first passenger train to run on the Dartmoor Line for over 50 years will be dispatched by Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, today (Wednesday 17 November).
The line will once again become a part of the UK rail network as it officially reopens to the public for regular year-round, all-week passenger services on 20 November.
The route links Okehampton to Exeter and has been made possible thanks to over £40 million of Government investment through the Restoring Your Railway programme.
The first train runs this today, travelling from Okehampton, and will carry local school children, campaigners, railway staff, and supporters who all helped make the project happen.
From Saturday, the service will run every two hours, with plans to expand to an hourly service in 2022.
Since 1997, the line has only been open during some Sundays in Summer after regular services were withdrawn in 1972.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "By restoring the Dartmoor Line we are undoing 50 years of damage, reconnecting a community and creating new opportunities for jobs, tourism, education and recreation.
"We have made it our mission to reverse cuts made in the Beeching era of the 1960s. The passion, nostalgia and enthusiasm for that ambition is clear right across the country.
"People love their railways, and rightly miss them when they’re gone. Today – ahead of time, and under budget – we’ve made a decisive step in fixing that, cutting the ribbon on a line and making a real difference to people’s lives."
Grant Shapps - Transport Secretary
The work has been completed in nine months, with Network Rail's team laying 11 miles of new track, installing 24,000 concrete sleepers and 29,000 tonnes of ballast.
Repairs have also been made to 21 structures along the route including 4 bridges.
Other infrastructure work has included level crossing improvements and the installation of railway communications equipment.
Vegetation clearance, earth and drainage works and fencing have also been completed and further infrastructure work will continue to take place to increase the line speed to enable an hourly service in 2022.
More work will be carried out over the winter including on the station buildings to enable the restoration of the café and other facilities.
The Restoring Your Railway fund was launched in January 2020 to reinstate axed local services and restore closed stations, many of which were cut following Dr Beeching’s report on ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ in 1963.