10,000 passengers use Dartmoor line

Success in just two weeks

Rail operator GWR says more than 10,000 people travelled on the Dartmoor Line in the first two weeks since it reopened.

The service is now regular and year-round, with trains linking Okehampton and Exeter.

The first train ran on Wednesday 17 November before regular passenger services on Saturday 20 November, travelling east from Okehampton, and carried local school children, campaigners, railway staff, and supporters who all helped make the project happen.

GWR didn't say which parts of the line passengers travelled on - the whole journey or just a part. The station stops at Crediton along the way.

The reopening of the line is the first of the government’s Restoring Your Railway schemes, into which £40 million is being pumped.

GWR managing director Mark Hopwood said:“Delivered £10 million under budget and within nine months, ahead of time, I am delighted to see that in its first two weeks the line is starting to flourish.

“The reopening has been a key aspiration for the community and the rail industry for some time, and the demand for services shows just how important good rail connections are for the community they serve.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps dispatched the first weekday passenger train to run on the Dartmoor Line for over 50 years. He said: “The Dartmoor Line has been a huge local success story - and these numbers show it.

“This link is already incredibly important to Okehampton, Exeter, Devon and to people from further afield visiting Dartmoor.

“It was brilliant to open the line last month, delivered two years early and £10 million under budget - now delivering for the local community.”