CrossCountry Trains set to increase service from Exeter to Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester
Trains to and from Exeter to Bristol will run every half hour on weekdays from the new year, under plans by CrossCountry Trains.
It means that Mondays to Fridays, passengers will rarely have to wait long for a train to the midlands. Bristol trains will go on to Birmingham. Trains to Manchester are expected to be hourly.
Exeter's Chamber of Commerce says the plans will be a big boost to tourism and business.
There is a downside. Lack of availability of new rolling stock means trains will have to be deployed. Three services a day from Exeter to Paignton or Plymouth will be cut under the new plans, as the Bristol service will terminate at Exeter.
The chamber says it's an understandable compromise and that GWR trains are sufficient at the moment; in contrast to the Bristol service, on which many trains are overcrowded. Whilst an half-hourly service to London would be desirable too, that's not on the cards.
CrossCountry's plans have not yet been confirmed, but it's understood the proposals are for the service to be introduced in January.
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