Plans submitted for new Torquay rail station

Edginswell running slowly

Network Rail has filed an official planning application for its long-awaited new railway station on the outskirts of Torquay.

The station at Edginswell has been on the bay’s wishlist for decades, and is designed to serve Torbay Hospital as well as new homes and developments on the edge of town.

Torbay Council says Edginswell is the ‘gateway’ to Torbay, and the ideal place for a new railway station. It was also a key component of Torquay United’s plans to relocate away from Plainmoor, but proposals for a new stadium close to Edginswell have so far come to nothing.

Edginswell will be a two-platform station between Newton Road and Riviera Way. Services to and from the station will link towards Paignton, Newton Abbot, Exeter and Exmouth.

Funding for the new station could become an issue, however. At a Torbay Council meeting last month, deputy council leader Chris Lewis (Con, Preston), said the scheme was not progressing as planned, and it was going to be costly.

“We thought it was a scheme that was ready to go, but we have now found out that it is not,” he said. “We have got to find £10 million.

“We are going to the government, we are going to Network Rail, and we hope to be able to get it across the line.”

Construction had been due to start this summer, with the station open and running by the end of 2024.In 2021, it was announced that the cost of delivering the station would be £13.1 million, using £3 million of Town Deal funds from the government.

The idea is that this will be matched with money from the council, developers and Network Rail.

The latest list of planning applications lodged with Torbay Council shows the Network Rail application in detail.

It is applying for permission to build a new railway station with pedestrian access from Newton Road and Riviera Way.

The plans would include a fully-accessible footbridge with a lift and elevated walkway. There would be a waiting shelter, lighting, CCTV and cycle parking.

Torbay Council’s planning department will discuss the application at a future meeting.