Railwatch 087 - March 2001

South West

By Gerard Duddridge G.A.Duddridge@exeter.ac.uk

North Devon Barnstaple has seen no passenger trains this winter since extensive flooding of the line on 23 October. The route remained open from Exeter to Eggesford, but following exceptionally heavy rain on the night of Sunday 29 October, the entire route was closed on the Monday. Exeter-Eggesford reopened on 20 November, but this section was closed again from 7 December to 2 January. Since 15 January the line has been operating as far as Portsmouth Arms (28 miles from Exeter), leaving the remaining 10 miles to be covered by bus. Water levels have been too high to check the foundations of the Weirmarsh Bridge. It is understood that prior to the October flooding, work on scour damage had been completed on a number of other river bridges between Exeter and Portsmouth Arms, but not Weirmarsh over the River Taw. The loss of trains to Barnstaple must be one of the longest closures in Britain. Perhaps inspired by the disruption on the Exeter route, a campaign has been instigated by a local councillor in North Devon to reopen the former route to Taunton. However, this would only be from South Molton to Taunton, as the A361 North Devon link road occupies 10 miles of the trackbed between Barnstaple and South Molton.

It has long been the view of RDS that even if the whole line could be reopened from Barnstaple to Taunton, the population served would be too small to justify reopening. We feel that investment should go into improving the existing Exeter route from Barnstaple, including money to eradicate the seasonal disruption and constant closure from flooding. The line could then be developed for a high quality passenger service from Barnstaple to London Waterloo via Exeter, plus through trains to Taunton and Bristol perhaps using a direct chord at Cowley Bridge.

Supporters of the reopening scheme point out that London would be within three hours of South Molton and it would draw on a wide catchment area that would include Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. However, if the Barnstaple to Exeter line was upgraded to give a 45-minute journey time (possible with four intermediate stops) and normal speeds are restored on the Great Western main line, London Paddington need only be two hours 55 minutes away from Barnstaple. To catch the same London train at Taunton, by driving first to South Molton, would save little more than five minutes.

Exeter-Plymouth inland routes In Railwatch 79 (April 1999) we reported that Devon County Council would not support the reopening of the Exeter-Plymouth via Okehampton line. It believes the Dawlish line has adequate capacity and that it can be kept open all year. The South West Regional Development Agency appears to share this view. Despite this, there is growing support for reopening by local MPs and the local media. Reopening via Okehampton is linked to our strategy for more trains via Dawlish and new stations at Exminster, Bishopsteignton, Ivybridge (West Halt), South Brent and Plympton. We continue to believe there are insufficient tracks to run both a faster express service and provide a better local service. We also think a major city such as Plymouth should have two routes, as in practice any railway may be disrupted by stalled trains, damaged rails, bridges hit by road traffic, and essential maintenance work on the track. Over the winter the route has been closed on: 18-19 November by a wall collapse at Dawlish, 4-8 December by work on the rails, 13-14 January by a landslip near Teignmouth, 15-19 January by work on the rails, 22-26 January by work on the rails, 30 January by a train fire at Totnes and 12-16 February by work on the rails.

Wenford BridgeThe Cornish Guardian of 1 February has reported that the china clay workings at Stannon Pit on Bodmin Moor are due to close, along with Wenford Dries which serves it. This appears to be a change in market conditions rather than an exhaustion of the china clay reserves. It would seem that those opponents of reinstating the railway to Wenford Dries have succeeded.

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