I would like to know: will/could the former railway network in the borough of West Devon be fully restored, following it’s closure in the 1960s and 70s and the recent reopening of the Dartmoor Line between Okehampton and Crediton (onto Exeter) in November 2021.
Is the Council working towards full restoration of this rail network?
Devon County Council collaborated with Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council and Somerset County Council to form the Peninsula Rail Task Force in response to severe weather impacts, which disrupted the mainline railway into the far South West. In 2016, this culminated with a Closing the Gap 20 year plan for rail (see PRTF-Closing-the-Gap.pdf (peninsulatransport.org.uk)), which put forward a range of interventions to support a more reliable, resilient railway and passengers being better connected with more capacity and comfort on their train journeys. Among the interventions it identified a phased approach to developing rail links with Okehampton to Exeter (now complete) and Tavistock to Plymouth (seeking investment) prioritised ahead of a full reopening of the northern route in the longer term. While we are not progressing the full restoration, our focus is on the second ‘Tavistock to Plymouth’ phase of the northern route. In October 2021, the County Council received Government funding through its Restoring Your Railway programme to produce a strategic outline business case, which was submitted to Government in September 2022 (see Tavistock to Plymouth Railway – Roads and transport (devon.gov.uk)).
Is this something Devon County Council supports or opposes? What would it take to make this happen?
As a joint contributor to the Closing the Gap PRTF report, it supports exploration of the full northern route.
How much would full restoration cost?
This is not information Devon County Council holds or has estimated.
Where would this money be sourced?
It would require central Government funding.
How long would full restoration take?
This is not something Devon County Council has assessed.
What would be the timescale involved?
This is not something Devon County Council has assessed.