Great Western Coffee Shop

... I'm concerned about capacity ...

I wish them well.

The only snag with Okehampton station is its location.  It is a 15 minute to the town (and it is uphill coming back to the station!).  Hopefully funding could be found for some sort of shuttle bus.

Dividing the number of journeys per annum to / from Okehampton by the number of services running there suggests that the service is well used without (typically) being crammed.  As the service is summer only, a higher seat usage ratio would be expected on this service than on a year round branch to a seaside resort.

Barry Doe in his "Rover Roundup" in RAIL issue 800 - in shops tomorrow (11th May) - says the Rover is valid on GWR services to Gunnislake, St Budeaux Ferry Road, Okehampton, Barnstaple, Tiverton Parkway, Exmouth and Paignton.  Also includes Stagecoach bus services throughout Devon as well as to Bude, Saltash and Lyme Regis.  Were all those destinations available before? 

Way to go Devon County Council and Dartmoor National Park Authority. Making the car the only viable option on one of the two days a week when most people might like to see and experience Dartmoor. That'll do wonders for the environment, habitat and sustainability of the National Park.  ::)

I wish them well.

The only snag with Okehampton station is its location.  It is a 15 minute to the town (and it is uphill coming back to the station!).  Hopefully funding could be found for some sort of shuttle bus.

The strange, rarely seen yellow ball in the sky probably skewed the passenger numbers way beyond expectation today.

GWR are offering the Dartmoor rover online, however DCC confirmed this week it is not valid on any buses this year.
I understand following First withdrawing DCC wouldn't or couldn't afford to subsidise a new operator.

Second Carriage for Sunday Rover as demand for Okehampton rail service continues to grow

The argument for the return of a full time rail service to Okehampton is growing ever stronger, with a second carriage increasing capacity for the town’s Sunday Rover service.

When the service started up for the summer back in May, residents were urged to make use of the train to prove the desire and need for a full time rail service for Okehampton. Currently, the train has a single carriage with 76 seats.

The service is proving hugely popular, with a passenger survey report showing that on almost every Sunday since the service began running, the day’s first train is often running close to or above full capacity. On the vast majority of days, over 150 passengers have been using the rover service both to and from Exeter, with several days breaking the 200 passenger mark.

At Monday’s full town council meeting, councillors revealed that First Great Western had agreed ‘in principle’ to run a second carriage on the service whenever possible to boost capacity to 150 seats.

Cllr Kevin Ball, Devon county councillor for Okehampton Rural, said: ‘Everyone is working together and we’ve put some friendly pressure on Great Western, who have been very supportive. In principle they have agreed to a two-car unit for the Sunday Rover. If they are running short of rolling stock, the normal timetable comes first. But it is an achievement all round and thanks to First Great Western for their help on this.’

Cllr Michael Ireland, a long time advocate for full rail services in Okehampton, said: ‘Now that the rover is offering 150 seats to and from the town, it is very important that we support it as a community. The news of a second carriage should be welcomed. This is not just about Okehampton. What you can see from the report is that while a good proportion of people using the service are from within three miles of Okehampton, a sizeable proportion are from West Devon, including many nearby parishes. Hatherleigh has been one of the main supporters of the service. We have had users from North Cornwall, West Devon and Torridge. Getting a service to Okehampton is very important as it can be a hub for the wider community.’

With the service proving so popular among Hatherleigh residents, a new bus service from Hatherleigh to Okehampton connecting to the Sunday Rover train is being trialled on August 14. The aim of the service is to demonstrate how the wider community will benefit from the return of a full time Okehampton rail service.

County councillor for Hatherleigh and Chagford James McInnes said: ‘Travelling into Exeter from Hatherleigh can be a nightmare at busy times of the day and not everyone has access to a car. These factors increase the risk of rural isolation and prevent many local people from applying for jobs in the city. The case for a permanent rail service from Okehampton to Exeter is steadily building and hopefully the bus service will be well used and will help the cause further. More information is available in Hatherleigh Visitor Information Centre and Hatherleigh Community Centre.’

MP for Central Devon Mel Stride said: ‘In the past decade the number of rail journeys undertaken in the UK has risen by 43 percent. Across the country, when residents are given the choice between driving and catching the train, more are choosing the train. Like Cllr McInnes, I hope the trial bus service is a big success and provides further evidence that a new passenger rail service between Okehampton and Exeter would be financially viable.’

At the town council meeting on Monday night, councillors also discussed the potential terminus for any new Okehampton services.

Councillors agreed that should any rail service return to the town, the existing station should be the terminus and the proposed Okehampton East station should be a park and ride station. This was following a proposal from Dartmoor Railway that the Okehampton East station should be the terminus for the line for operational reasons and so as not to disrupt the Polar Express tourist trains at Christmas.

Cllr Tony Leech, borough councillor for Okehampton North, said: ‘It is imperative that Okehampton East is not the stopping point for any new service. In the fullness of time, if we have the railway right through Okehampton, it would be stupid to have Okehampton East as the terminus. It is vital for bringing tourists in to Okehampton and for people in the west of the town. It is a no-brainer.’

Cllr Paul Vachon said: ‘The problem is that if Okehampton East were to be the terminus, the last place people would want to be dumped is in the middle of a business park building site on the east of town. We’d need to set up a bus to bring people in to town then. To improve marketing and tourism, it is vital that the terminus would be at the current station.’

THOUSANDS of passengers used the Sunday Rover rail service connecting Okehampton to Exeter this summer, according to a survey conducted by local railway group OkeRail.

OkeRail has brought together local authorities and community groups to promote the return of a regular passenger rail service between Okehampton and Exeter, and say its findings show there is a definite demand for an extended service.

Its survey revealed that the Great Western Railway Sunday Rover service — which operated between May 15 and September 11 from Okehampton to Sampford Courtenay and Crediton and on to Exeter — attracted more than 7,500 passenger journeys, with an average of just over 200 people using the service each week.

To show their determination to bring improved rail services to West Devon, OkeRail and the Peninsula Rail Group are also putting on a one-off First direct train from Okehampton to London on March 18, 2017.
Their survey concluded that the Sunday Rover service was used by passengers from Torridge, Mid and West Devon and North and East Cornwall.

Some 11% of passengers interviewed (from a total of 928) said they would use a daily service for commuting, 34% for weekly shopping/leisure and 12% would use a daily service to connect at Exeter with the main London-Plymouth rail line.

Passengers inter-viewed showed overwhelming support for a daily Okehampton-Exeter service. Some suggested that if there was no daily service by summer then a Saturday service should be added to the Sunday Rover.
There were some complaints, however, of overcrowding which led to some passengers refusing to travel.

But overall supporters of the service were delighted with the response.

OkeRail chairman Mike Davies said: ‘This is an absolutely brilliant response. I remember the first time I caught the train from Okehampton and there were more than 100 people ready to board the train to Exeter. It was amazing. Such was the demand that Great Western had to add a second coach.’

Mr Davies believes that with the growth of Okehampton in the future access to better rail transport for passengers is essential.

‘There are places like Bude that has no rail service and if Okehampton was connected to the main line to London with a daily service it mean more people would come through Okehampton from North Cornwall and North Devon. Also those who come to take on the Ten Tors on Dartmoor each year could then come by train instead.’

The findings are even more relevant as the Government is expected in February to announce whose bids have been successful for the rail franchise for the Exeter line and any other new routes including possible resurrection of the Exeter-Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth line.

The Peninsula Rail Group is a group of professionals, academics and stakeholders, who are campaigning for better regional rail services. Its chairman Richard Searight told the Times: ‘The survey proves that there is terrific interest in the service and that more people use it than on the Tarka line in North Devon and that’s just on a Sunday.

‘The survey itself is so important because it will build a business case for both the Okehampton to Exeter line and the whole proposed restoration of the northern rail line (Exeter-Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth).

‘The first phase is the Okehampton-Exeter line and we hope to have regular services operating by the end of next year. It could even see services on Saturdays and Sundays and spread to the whole of the regular services.’

Mr Searight hopes that the figures will be the ‘litmus test’ to attracting possible rail service providers as the high number of passengers using the existing Rover line will prove to franchisees that the Okehampton and northern rail options are lucrative.

He added: ‘We want to create a buzz about the success of the results of this survey especially at this moment when the franchises are to be announced in the near future.’

Mr Searight urged as many people as possible to write to their MP, local councillor, newspaper, OkeRail and/or the Peninsula Rail Group in support of securing a permanent Okehampton-Exeter service and a northern line for Plymouth to Exeter.

MP for Central Devon Mel?Stride voiced his backing for revamped rail services for the county.

He told the Times: ‘The Government’s invitation to tender for the South Western franchise was published on June 30, with the preferred bidder set to be announced in February 2017.

‘I have been in correspondence with OkeRail regarding the potential of restoring a regular all year service between Okehampton and Exeter and have pressed the train operators bidding for the franchise to carefully consider the benefits that such a move would have locally.

‘I am also continuing to gather local support for the service — only yesterday I met Mid Devon District Council leader Clive Eginton in Crediton to ask for his support from a Mid Devon perspective, which he has pledged.
‘While I continue to follow developments closely, I am also delighted that OkeRail and the Peninsula Rail Group have organised a train from Okehampton to London next March and hope to be available to travel on it!’