Okehampton

[whole diary]

[REVUpminster]

Modern railways reporting Network Rail have taken over the Okehampton Line from it's border at 183M 73CH. This is where the track separates to Barnstaple and Okehampton. It does not say if it goes beyond Okehampton to Meldon.

[RichardB]

Modern railways reporting Network Rail have taken over the Okehampton Line from it's border at 183M 73CH. This is where the track separates to Barnstaple and Okehampton. It does not say if it goes beyond Okehampton to Meldon.

I'm sure (but don't know for certain) that it will be the whole line to Meldon.

[REVUpminster]

Okehampton is the target but Crediton the prize with a half hour service the station with greatest growth potential being only 15-20 mins from Exeter Central.

I have always felt GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have feared the latent demand and an hourly service could not cope. 158s might have to go in favour of the 165/166.









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[RichardB]

Okehampton is the target but Crediton the prize with a half hour service the station with greatest growth potential being only 15-20 mins from Exeter Central.

I have always felt GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have feared the latent demand and an hourly service could not cope. 158s might have to go in favour of the 165/166.

I agree with you about Crediton having a lot of potential and I know GWR have it firmly in mind.   A lot of houses either built or being built within walking distance of the station.  We'll have to see how things go when we've been able to put Covid largely behind us (through vaccination etc) and what travel patterns emerge when there are no (or minimal) restrictions on travel.   

[TonyK]

My daughter lives in Crediton, her husband having grown up there, so I am familiar with the layout. The station is on the edge of town, and a bit of a schlep from the majority of houses, schools, and places of work. However, quite a few houses were built practically outside the station a few years ago, between it and the Tesco supermarket. There's a fair number of new houses under construction very close by, which will give it a decent catchment. There is a bus from the further reaches of the town to the station, the number 5, but as that takes only 26 minutes to get to Exeter bus station, it wouldn't really be worth changing to train for Exeter Central. The train certainly seems popular in Crediton, though, and a half-hourly service will make it more so, I am sure.

[Timmer]

I have always felt GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have feared the latent demand and an hourly service could not cope. 158s might have to go in favour of the 165/166.

Would gladly see the 158s back on the Cardiff-Portsmouth line running on a line they were built for.

_{Removed stray markup - RS}

[Clan Line]

Would gladly see the 158s back on the Cardiff-Portsmouth line running on a line they were built for.

Yes please, but 4/5 cars this time !

[TonyK]

I have read in another place that work on the line to Okehampton has stepped up markedly in the past few days, and will henceforth be full-on. The work so far has been to allow free rein to engineering trains. 14,000 new sleepers are on order, along with enough new rail for the whole line to Coleford Junction.

[Jamsdad]

That is very good news

[TonyK]

Here are a couple of photos of the first sleepers  being unloaded at Okehampton station.





These are reproduced with the kind permission of the owner and copyright holder, Mark Fabiano, who is a Colas Rail driver. The pictures were first shared on the North Devon Railways Facebook page, and all credit to the organisers of that too. It is well worth a look through.

[TonyK]

Looks like two trips between Exeter and Okehampton, then away to Derby.

[smokey]

Whilst New Rails are a very good thing, why would NR^» (Network Rail - home page) want to renew the Mile off NEW track that was placed down by the New High output train within the last 10 years?

[grahame]

I'm seeing a suggestion (would be in"rumour mill" if we didn't have an Okehampton thread!) that the track in platform 2 is to be taken up, as the separation between national network trains running into platform 1 from the heritage trains / stock stored in platform 2 does not meet modern H&S^▸ (Health and Safety) Standards.    Can anyone confirm?  How seriously will this effect any heritage operations?

[bradshaw]

If NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have taken back ownership of the track then any use by a Heritage railway will need the locomotives and stock to be mainline certificated.
If the Dartmoor stock is not so certificated then they either have to obtain certification at a significant cost or remain physically separated.
Can anyone confirm what their status is?

[RichardB]

If NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have taken back ownership of the track then any use by a Heritage railway will need the locomotives and stock to be mainline certificated.
If the Dartmoor stock is not so certificated then they either have to obtain certification at a significant cost or remain physically separated.
Can anyone confirm what their status is?

I think you're right but generally it's still way too early for any of this, I'm afraid.  As I understand it, Network Rail are still in negotiation with Aggregate Industries about buying the line.