" "

 

I have, that's why I used quotation marks 

 

Have you been to Okehampton? 

 

Or before Labour get in and decide no more goodies for "posh southerners"

 
Got to spend the money on a party before they can't build it because prices have gone up.

Still waiting on Edginswell, new entrance at Newton Abbot, and lifts at Torquay. Planning permission will/has run out on all three. Also platform 2 at St David's

https://news.gwr.com/news/i-bet-you-didnt-know-the-name-of-the-new-okehampton-station

 
It appears the official name for the new parkway station at Okehampton is now Okehampton Interchange

https://dartmoorline.com/okehampton-interchange/

 
I was digging through some papers and found the 1997 Devon County Council press release about Devon's purchase of the station and Meldon Viaduct, the great refurbishment of the station and the new Summer Sunday services.   Thought it would be of interest so here it is -

 
a small amount of film footage of the damage shown on Spotlight local news at 18:30pm on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.

 LOCAL NEWS AVAILABLE FOR TWENTY FOURS ONLY ON THE CATCH UP THINGY

 
The "Railways of Devon and Cornwall" Facebook page has some pictures of Okehampton station where the winds have blown the footbridge roof onto the tracks by the platforms   My GWR app also says that services have been cancelled due to parts of a bridge falling onto the track between Crediton and Okehampton.  Seems that no one was hurt thankfully.

 
This is another example of how passenger estimates for new rail services prove to be a lot lower than what actually happens, while the reverse is more often the case for cheaper alternatives. The integrated bus service shows the sort of joined-up thinking we need to see more of. If anyone at Devon County Council is watching, please take this as a plug for a similar initiative between Tiverton and its eponymous Parkway. The town is growing fast, and the current provision means travelling to the station by car is the only sensible option. I am sure other towns would be able to make similar pleas with equal justification.

 
There's more information about the new station to be built at the east end of Okehampton, 2 mins drive from the A30, here https://dartmoorline.com/west-devon-transport-hub/ plus an Autumn update on the project here https://dartmoorline.com/2023/11/autumn-update-west-devon-transport-hub/

The final name for the station is still under discussion, but it won't be "West Devon Transport Hub" which is the project name.

 
The Mayor of Okehampton cut a cake in a small ceremony at the town's station yesterday to celebrate the second anniversary of the station and Dartmoor Line fully reopening.

More info here  https://dartmoorline.com/2023/11/celebrations-in-okehampton-as-more-than-550000-journeys-made-in-first-two-years-of-dartmoor-line-reopening/

and here https://www.radioexe.co.uk/news-and-features/local-news/happy-birthday-okehampton-line/

 
Congratulations to GWR and the Okehampton team on winning "Station of the Year - Small" at last night's National Rail Awards

 

I thought they used the Orient Express.

 
Hopefully they'll build the platforms long enough for some nice 80x's that can run directly to London, or perhaps the good folks at GCHQ Bude might like to chip in a few quid to enable their staff to travel direct via CrossCountry to Cheltenham ;-) 

 
The parkway station is in among new industrial park and new housing nearby.

 
Thinking that an Okehampton Parkway station should be at Sourton, even if it added a '1' to left hand end of the costings. It'd be a bit mean to suggest meeting half the costs by repurposing the money allocated for the first ever RoRo ferry to, er, Fairisle.

Mark

 
Announced today, the Levelling Up Fund bid for West Devon Transport Hub AKA Okehampton Parkway has been successful.  £13,455,000.

 
Direct trains to Plymouth    Not yet.

 

I've found the misssing s and corrected the original - if you click on the link it should be right now (and for all other stations too)

 
Typo - it's  accessible.

 
All looks sensible now (here)

 

Thank you, Richard.

 

Yes to ticket machine, public toilet (when station buffet is open), car park and yes, it is accessible.

 
Updating our facilities maps / lists for OKEHAMPTON

Here is a data sample ... can someone in the know please fill me in for Okehampton - are these any of these facilities??

 
An interesting video looking back on how the Dartmoor Line was achieved, courtesy of Modern Railways via Railfuture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37IjQWTNGBE

Really impressive, but in some ways it just heightens one's frustration with the speed at which Portishead is crawling along. As an example, the Dartmoor Line went straight to Full Business Case (avoiding the Preliminary and Outline Business Case steps). Preparation of the Full Business Case for Portishead, however, will start this month and will be complete in March 2024...

 

It's going to depend on whether freight returns to that section of line.  There is a plan (which would need funding) to do that section of line up for freight if there is a demand which could be, say, stone coming up from another quarry and being loaded at Meldon or, of course, Meldon itself reopening.  Network Rail certainly haven't ruled out the shuttle coming back at that time.   I'm afraid I can't see it happening if there is no freight demand though.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/revupminster/51217492672/in/dateposted-public/
They couldn't have shown a worse picture on that Dartmoor Line website. The platform in June 2021 was in better condition than many in the South West.

 
Will there ever be a chance that the heritage line to Meldon Viaduct, not that long out of use, could now be reopened as a shuttle from Okehampton?

 
More information about the station restoration project, including more photos, here -

https://dartmoorline.com/2022/12/ribbon-cutting-to-mark-completion-of-okehampton-station-heritage-restoration-project/

It's been a real privilege and pleasure to work on (as has been everything to do with the Dartmoor Line reopening).

REVUpmister is absolutely right about the heritage group - the Dartmoor Railway Association. 

As part of the station project work, they have a new shop in the main station building.  I'm very pleased to have organised the funding for the fit out.   More info about the shop here -

https://www.dartmoor-railway-association.org/shop

 
The heritage group kept that station and platforms in very good condition beforehand.

 
News of the completion of the station buildings renovation, featuring RichardB of this parish!

Okehampton train station 1950s renovation project complete https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64038088

Looks very impressive. Well done all concerned.

 
Not sure if this was posted anywhere, but it should be on here so here it is:

https://news.gwr.com/news/dartmoor-line-passes-250-000-journeys-on-its-first-anniversary-as-rail-minister-visits-to-mark-official-opening-of-station-building

 
Stagecoach South West, who operate the buses between Bude, Okehampton and Exeter (Services 6 & 6A) have announced substantial revisions to these routes meaning that there will be fewer journeys on those buses effective 30th October 2022.

- Buses from Bude to Exeter will not operate via. Launceston and will be curtailed to Okehampton and will terminate at Okehampton Station for onward travel to Exeter. The number of journeys will be 5 per day in school termtimes (4 during holidays) each way on Mondays to Fridays with only 4 on Saturdays. No Sunday or Bank Holiday service. Journeys to be numbered as Service 6.

- Launceston to Exeter is also lost but Devon County Council have announced that they have tendered (or are going to) for a new Service 306 between Launceston and Okehampton. No operator has been confirmed for this Service 306 yet although Stagecoach have said it won't be them so I would guess Transport for Cornwall might do this one as I think they have a base at Launceston.

New timetable for Service 6 between Bude and Okehampton:
http://nationaljourneyplanner.travelinesw.com/swe-ttb/XSLT_TTB_REQUEST?deleteAssignedStops_ttb=1&command=direct&itdLPxx_displayHeader=false&type_ttb=any&language=en&sessionID=0&requestID=0&itdLPxx_template=tableResults&coordOutputFormat=WGS84%5Bdd.ddddd%5D&outputFormat=0&std3_commonMacro=ttb&std3_contractorMacro=&line=swe%3A33006%3A%20%3AH%3Ay10%3A2

New timetable for Service 6A between Exeter and Okehampton:
http://nationaljourneyplanner.travelinesw.com/swe-ttb/XSLT_TTB_REQUEST?deleteAssignedStops_ttb=1&command=direct&itdLPxx_displayHeader=false&type_ttb=any&language=en&sessionID=0&requestID=0&itdLPxx_template=tableResults&coordOutputFormat=WGS84%5Bdd.ddddd%5D&outputFormat=0&std3_commonMacro=ttb&std3_contractorMacro=&line=swe%3A3306A%3A%20%3AH%3Ay10%3A2

It is worth noting that, despite the info from Stagecoach which states that Okehampton Station will be the terminus of both routes, the stop at the station is not included in the new timetables. The changes to the Okehampton buses are part of a very wide (!) range of changes across Torbay, Exeter and North Devon. The waiting times at Okehampton for changes between buses looks to be about 20 minutes in each direction in the Town Centre.

The info from Stagecoach is now on their website - https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/south-west/south-west-timetables - although you will have to click "see more" as there are so many changes there which include the severing of all direct bus links between Exeter and Barnstaple although Devon CC have procured contracted services over the withdrawn sections as you will see.

In the meantime I expect that the passenger figures between Okehampton and Exeter may rise further once the bus changes come in.

Dave

 

Would also be interesting to know the numbers using the associated shuttle bus.

 
There is now a Facebook page for the Bulleid Buffet at Okehampton station.  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085965062565

 

Thanks Graham.  The period started on Sunday 21 August and ran through to Saturday 17 September inclusive.   Part of the reason for the increase are students travelling to Exeter College.  I don't know the number of trains I'm afraid but of course nothing ran on strike days.

 

Congratulations - and all the more remarkable if that's 20th August (a strike day) to 16th September, so taking in the strike that was planned but cancelled on 15th, and the changes people made to their plans on the passing of The Queen.  Do you know how many trains were timetabled, and how many cancelled, during that period?

 
PS - I got the Period 6 (mid Aug - mid Sept) journey figures on Friday - 23,516 journeys made on the Dartmoor Line in those four weeks.  This follows three periods of 18,000+ since the hourly service was introduced in May.  All more than double the pre-opening projections. 

As you can imagine, much delight at these figures.

 
Here's the press story from yesterday's opening of the Dartmoor National Park Information Centre and buffet at Okehampton station yesterday.

The story isn't quite right in that the Dartmoor Railway Association shop, waiting room, booking hall and booking office are still to finish - should be done by the end of October and will certainly be done for the first anniversary of reopening on 20 November

https://www.okehampton-today.co.uk/news/cafe-and-information-centre-opens-at-okehampton-station-565457

Buffet opening hours confirmed - "The cafe will be open from 7am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sundays."   

 

They are currently operating from the booking hall, serving in the doorway to the platform, and open seven days a week, 7AM - 5PM, so I'd guess it will be the same in the Buffet itself.

Here's their Facebook page for further info https://www.facebook.com/amazingbrowniebakers

 
Will it be open seven days a week, and what are the planned opening and closing times?

 
Another milestone approaching, the station buffet and toilets will reopen on Saturday 24 September

https://www.okehampton-today.co.uk/news/okehampton-station-confirms-cafe-will-open-this-month-562756?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3vi1qqH8-JrzdN7CUGR1anhEJBWHlO5_ji1UYtZ8lD4bWTKg2wKZm360Q#Echobox=1663221945

 
https://www.bloodandcustard.com/BR-CoachingSetsOkehamptonCarCarrier.html


On this day - 12th September 1964 - this service ceased

 

Yes definitely and this reminds me that it has often been found that usage prediction models used by those involved in assessing a railway's viability still tend to underestimate (sometimes seriously) the actual take up.
I'm not aware of any resource that records and quantifies these discrepancies or if there is now an admission that these predictive models need looking at again but perhaps I'm a bit behind where the current best practices actually are these days.

 
Apologies that that post unintentionally came across as more than a little 'DfT in Trowbridge' mode - I fess up to having the regular counts of 30ish passengers per carriage on the Waterloos.

Okehampton's return to the network is really good news as is achieving those figures in the opening year: it'll be good to see an in-depth and informative analysis of who is travelling, to and from where, and also e.g. how people travel to Okehampton's suboptimally-situated station. Looking forward to the UK finding its feet on the benefits of through routes more generally, and this one in particular.

Mark

 

Didn't it start at two-hourly so half that number of services, and wasn't there a significant closure even when it had been opened?  I suspect numbers are more like double your estimate ... which as an average is not bad; there are going to be a couple of contraflow lemons like the early morning train off Exeter and that last one in at night.   No passengers realise the lemons exist, exactly because there are no passengers there to realise!

 
120000 journeys, 300 days, 30 services per day - roughly 13 passengers per service?

Mark

 

Excellent - though of course it depends on who's expectations we're talking about.   For many, this great success was fully anticipated - and saying that is not to lessen the achievement.

 
From the BBC Devon news today:

The number of passengers using a reopened rail service in Devon, which had been shut for nearly 50 years, is about double what was expected, according to train operator GWR.
The Dartmoor Line between Okehampton and Exeter reopened in November 2021 with regular services for the first time in 49 years.
GWR said more than 120,000 journeys had been made……….

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-62736152

 
Hourly service launched today - my colleague Mike, who lives not far from Okehampton, popped down to the station to film the first train arriving.

Reasonable number of people waiting for it.

https://fb.watch/d0uM4bkOUL/

 
Rail Minister Wendy Morton was at Okehampton on Thursday,featured on BBC spotlight local news for the South West.

 

I thought this was always the plan. I don't know why it wasn't all done at once, but someone will.

 

Awkward that track laid in 2021 has had to be lifted and relayed just a year later.

Off-topic: the Borders Railway. Here's a Google Streetview from 2011, south through Tynehead cutting, on the final few miles of the climb to the summit at Falahill. The trackbed then, a lake or a swamp - in both directions. A current view would show that the out-of-use old bridge is now gone, having been replaced with a new structure on the alignment of the embankment that then held water in that pond in the cutting. Down on the trackbed, the railway is back, and is double track at this point as it's within one of the line's dynamic loops - which ends on the far side of the bridge in the far distance, which is at the site of Tynehead Station in the far distance.

https://www.google.com/maps/@55.8276166,-2.9733668,3a,75y,139.89h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMzbk6jeUNG3qRSUDr2iM-Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DMzbk6jeUNG3qRSUDr2iM-Q%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D154.67532%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

 
https://twitter.com/networkrailwest

Puzzle?? Renewing track and drainage in the Fatherford area; I thought this had been done in the recent record breaking track renewal.

This answers my own question.

https://www.dartmoor-railway-association.org/comingsgoings

Don't think this will be ever double track again.

 
Small item at the end of the local news on the works, on BBC spotlight news at 06:25am on Thursday.

 

Because then it might never have reopened?

 
Why couldn't this have been done before the line was opened?

 
A press release from Network Rail:

 
For clarification I presume the 'passing loop' will be at Crediton Station then, albeit hardly central to the route length.

 

I thought a bit of rejigging would suffice to avoid inbound trains having to wait for outbounds to clear the stretch of line. It would cost money and I don't know how big an issue it is, although I have noticed a tendency for the train I am waiting for at Tiverton Parkway to lose time at Exeter, having kept bang on time from Plymouth.

 

Are there really enough trains needing to cross sides to justify that? Hardly - even Paddington has made do without a flyover so far. There, a couple of extra lines from Ladbroke Grove inwards allow for paths to be plaited. So for Exeter one extra line should suffice, and as you say that exists in New Yard with a bit of rejigging.

 

The only way out of that is to build a local flyover. There is space using New Yard and the long shunt line that nearly reaches Cowley Bridge to take a track over the main line. It would be very expensive. Getting rid of Red Cow level crossing might be cheaper to increase line speeds.

 

It wasn't that, but the way the outbound train seemed to hold up the inbound that struck me as a bit limiting.

 
Source: Okerail

 

No track changes. Just upgrading the linespeed and looking at that cab ride it needs it between Crediton and Coleford.

In an ideal world the points at Crediton would be moved to Coleford to make a double track section.

Again from that cab ride double tracking other sections would cost a fortune.

 
Did we ever identify what track changes are being done to enable the hourly each direction service? I think we had lots of best guesses but nothing definite

 

Quite a crowd getting on at Crediton.

 

All the through platforms are bi-directional so all movements are possible. the train was leaving platform 3 which is in effect the northbound local. Platforms 1 and 3 can also hold two separate trains ie The platforms could have a SWR train and the Paignton-Exmouth local could still reverse.

 

Lovely! I hadn't realised there was such a restricted way out from that side of EXD.

 
Crisp real-time cab view, Exeter to Okehampton, tweeted by the Rail Delivery Group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP8UsYGNFR4

Mark

 

Worth trying with one of your excellent pictures. Click on the photo, then on the right-facing arrow next to the star at the bottom right of the page. The share dialogue should appear - click the BB Code tab, then choose a size - I usually opt for Medium (800 x 533). Highlight and copy the text that appears in the box above, then paste that into your post. That will show your details below the picture when you post it. If you delete everything before the [img.. and after the /img], it will just show the picture.

 

I do have a basic flkr account and the pictures did display before but I must be doing something wrong.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/revupminster/

 

Flickr is free for a basic account, which lets you host photos and show them here. It isn't too complicated, and requires nothing more than an email address. You can go down the route of using it to share photos with friends and the like, but I don't. I used to use Photobucket, which went subscription. Other hosting sites are available.

There may be some guidance on how to use it to post pictures here - if not, and if there's a need, I'll draft something. Otherwise, I'm happy to post other folks' pictures, but I'm not always around.

 

If you could forward the YouTube link to info@ukrailtours.com they may be able to identify the culprits and take appropriate action as the individuals may well be in breach of the strict rules laid down for railtours

 

I will spare you the three minute video of the traffic and pedestrians clearing the level crossing once the train moved down toward the sidings

 

Link looks the same and it is the one. I have posted another with the train clearing the station.

 

Can any passengers on this UKR Special train please gives some details of the speeds attained between Coleford Jn and Okehampton, as a spirited run was noted by onlookers.

Also comment on the unnecessary and juvenile hooliganism of load shouting/ bellowing by a few UKR ‘Customers’ in the rear of the train as it left Okehampton; which has been recorded on a posted YouTube, and was much to the disapproval of the many locals and supporters of the very successful reopening of the line to regular trains, who were at Okehampton station to welcome this train.

 
Link not working for me, but is this the one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6EaDi5Az2g

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6EaDi5Az2g

Charter train arriving at Paignton Saturday, fouling the level crossing which took about 15 minutes to clear..

 

I don't have flkr either, so had ask TonyK to upload my Bristol ones!

 
Paignton is my station and I watched it's arrival. Two locos at front and 12 coaches. Fouled the points for 15 minutes with 1 and 1/2 coaches until all the persons got off and it could proceed into Goodrington Coach sidings.
Went back at 1400hrs and one engine had run round to top and tail for the trip to Okehampton.

The service train 150232/158762 in the picture had to use platform 1 and shunt back wrong line to wait for the charter train to leave platform 2, meanwhile late running (30mins) Paddington-Paignton stood at Torquay waiting for the local to shunt to platform 2 before it could get into platform 1.

The shunt move takes place 2/3 times a day with even a cross country voyager doing it.

As an aside I can't upload photos without using flkr.

 

I think that photo is taken at Paignton. I believe the buildings behind are the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway

 

Here is the picture I took at Okehampton - didn't get up to the loco

 

We went to Paignton too (just over 2 hours there) where the picture was taken. We stopped for ten minutes at Okehampton - just time to get off the train before we had to get back on by the time we had walked through to the platform.

 
looks like both the special and the service train were there at the same time, thought it was worked as one train at a time?

 
First pictures ...





Pretty impossible to get them person-free.  Here's Hercules Smith with Hercules Class50

 

It had been hauled by two locos at the front London to Paignton, then top and tail from there to Okehampton and back to Exeter.   Where both were to go back on the front.   Unfortunately there was a problem with ono the locos coupling electronics to link the two locos in tandem, so they had to take what should have been the train loco off, put what should have been the pilot on first, bring back the train loco and test it.

Then an engineer's train was ahead of us from Fairwater yard to Westbury, we had to wait for the single line through Melksham which should be redoubled and then we had to wait to get off the single line and sit behind a London express as it did its business at Chippenham.

 

Not sure what happened on the way back.  Delayed at Exeter St David’s for 45 mins and 75 down by Chippenham.

 

I am delighted to see your service being stepped up to hourly in a few months.  It confirms that your decision makers are totally aware of the need for / benefit of an hourly service  on a line with a 45 minute end to end running time.

I am jealous - I must confess - as an hourly service would also be appropriate to my local line from Westbury to Swindon - just 2 trains each way per day ten years ago, up to a service every 2 to 2.5 hours by five years ago, but stuck in the doldrums of frequency improvement ever since (thought they had to give us longer trains)

I am encouraged by your success, and congratulate everyone involved. We will continue to encourage our CRP, LTA, TOC and MPs to work together and follow your example.  The nature of this sort of improvement is that it takes years of seemingly-little, then has a giant leap forward.

 

The hourly service needs to work with the potential for an Okehampton Parkway stop and, yes, the work is essential to make it all stack up. 

 
The work is hardly decreasing journey times.  I believe there is an allowance for future stop at Okehampton Parkway.

 

This work is essential to allow the hourly service to come in from (all being well) the May timetable change.

 
https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/planned-engineering/2022/rail-improvement-work-crediton-february-2022.pdf?la=en

Crediton-Okehampton services replaced by buses 19-27/02/2022 & 25/04-09/05/2022 due to engineering work. 

 
Current planned timetables for the summer are now online - I have seen them on 2 separate sites and both agree on the information - and indicate an hourly service between Exeter Central and Okehampton 7 days per week which is good to see.

Mondays to Fridays: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:OKE/2022-05-16/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt
Saturdays: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:OKE/2022-05-21/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt
Sundays: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:OKE/2022-05-22/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

Dave

 

Now fully booked!

 

 

Funnily enough, I have walked up to Okehampton station from the town - three times in the last year, once in a downpour! - but I've not walked Coombe Jn - Liskeard.  Okehampton is a steep, fairly unrelenting walk but not all that long - I've done it in 12 mins.  The 118 is very welcome.  There's talk of a new very local operator providing an additional town bus too in the near future.

 

For those of us who have not yet been there, how does it compare to Liskeard to Coombe Junction?

 
Excellent trip albeit with a slight delay at Exeter on the return. Impressed with the ride quality on the Dartmoor Line which really couldn't be better. The bus down to Okehampton centre is a necessity, more so the return to the station, the walk would be quite a schlep. I was surprised to see that some work was done on Sampford Courtney platform even though the station is no longer served. It'll be interesting to monitor usage going forwards.