Posted 17th November 2021 | 2 Comments

Inaugural train runs from Okehampton

Inaugural train runs from Okehampton

The first train to carry passengers from Okehampton as a curtain raiser to a full service being restored to Exeter ran today, with politicians, local schoolchildren and other invited guests on board. A two-hourly public service will start on Saturday. and the frequency will be doubled next year.

The line was closed to passengers by British Rail in 1972, although special summer Sunday services started running in 1997. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: 'As we reopen the Dartmoor line, we are rightly reconnecting communities, giving passengers the chance to choose rail over the road and travel from Exeter to Okehampton on greener, cleaner modes of transport.' 

Reader Comments:

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  • Tony Pearce, Reading

    I used the line a few years ago on a Sunday to visit the 'Dartmoor Railway' (which I believe is no longer running) and for a walk over the very windy Meldon Viaduct. The Viaduct is deemed to weak to carry any sort of Rail Traffic - although the newly built Very Light Rail (VLR) train might be exactly what is needed.

  • david duckworth, bolton

    job half done open all the way to bere alston