Dartmoor Line

The Dartmoor Line, sometimes called the Northern Route, is the former London & South Western railway (LSWR) / Southern Railway line from Exeter to Plymouth via Crediton, Okehampton, Tavistock and Bere Alston.

Campaign for Better Transport has identified the Okehampton – Tavistock – Bere Alston route as a No.1 priority for reopening.

Northern Route Working Group (NRWG), a coalition of industry experts, submitted a proposal, Tavistock Okehampton Reopening Scheme, to the Department for Transport Restoring Your Railway Fund. An award from this fund enables a scheme promoter to make progress towards developing a business case. The scheme was not among those selected to receive funding, most likely because the maturity of the scheme rendered it ineligible.

Northern Route Working Group website

Dartmoor Line route map (Exeter – Plymouth via Okehampton and Tavistock) width=

© OpenStreetMap contributors | OpenStreetMap copyright notice | View context map
Only principal stations shown.

Why reinstate the Dartmoor Line?

There are several reasons:

To connect a huge area of Devon and Cornwall to the rail network;
To offer the potential for through journeys from the area beyond Plymouth and Exeter.
To relieve road congestion in the area and in town centres and enable sustainable access to Dartmoor National Park.
To provide an all-weather and more easily graded route for freight trains to access Plymouth, West Devon and Cornwall.
To provide an alternative route when the coastal main line is closed due to bad weather or maintenance.

The Dartmoor Line in five parts

1. Exeter – Crediton

This is the southern section of the fully operational Exeter – Barnstaple line (Tarka Line).

2. Crediton – Okehampton

Northbound from Crediton, a dedicated track parallels the Tarka Line track as far as Coleford Junction, where it heads westwards to Sampford Courtenay and Okehampton. Stations at Bow, North Tawton, Sampford Courtenay and Okehampton lost their passenger services in 1972.

Okehampton station has been fully restored and until September 2019 there was an Exeter – Okehampton summer Sunday service operated by Great Western Railway.

Regular passenger services between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton will recommence in 2021. Read more

The proposed Okehampton Parkway railway station – Wikipedia is not included in NRWG’s reopening scheme as there is not enough potential passenger traffic to support two stations.

3. Okehampton – Tavistock

The track remains intact from Crediton to Meldon Viaduct station, opened in 2000 by the heritage Dartmoor Railway and located three miles beyond Okehampton.

Beyond Meldon Viaduct station (currently excluded from the Northern Route Working Group scheme) is the viaduct across West Okement River, which will need to be replaced should the line ever be reinstated.

Extending across Meldon Viaduct and through to Lydford, the alignment is occupied by the Granite Way, a walking route and cycleway built by Devon County Council (DCC) and forming part of the National Cycle Network Route 27. It is maintained jointly by DCC and Sustrans. The NRWG scheme retains this usage of the alignment.

From Lydford (formerly Lidford) to Tavistock there are two parallel alignments that are best explained by this diagram:

GWR and LSWR lines between Lydford and Tavistock, 1890

Railway lines between Lydford and Tavistock, 1890 | Source of original map: Wikipedia

View the Reopen entry for Tavistock station

4. Tavistock – Bere Alston

The track was lifted following closure of Tavistock North station in 1968. Most of the trackbed is intact.

The location of a new Tavistock station is yet to be determined.

Proposed Tavistock to Bere Alston railway re-instatement and associated multi-use trails. Source: Devon County Council – URL concealed but graphic is included here: Tavistock to Bere Alston railway: re-instatement and associated trail routes – Environmental Impact Assessment, Screening and Scoping Report by Devon County Council (pdf; 117pp—October 2014) | Enlarge map

5. Bere Alston – Plymouth

This is part of the operational Gunnislake – Plymouth line (Tamar Valley line).

Tamar Valley Line – Wikipedia