Okehampton 2018 Daily And new station?

[richw]

The attached poster is being plastered all over Okehampton. I’ve seen nor heard anything official so does anyone have any more information on either going daily or this new Parkway station?
Presumably 150/143 stock released from turbo cascades

Attached image is a photo of a poster supplied to me by a friend for my attention as the parkway station would likely by very useful to me.

Poster advertises an introduction of a daily operation from Okehampton to Exeter Central, and also construction of a new parkway station adjacent to the A30 at the east end of Okehampton commencing 2018

 

[CaptainHaddock]

"Groundworks for a 300 space car park have been carried out on Devon County Council land for the "Okehampton Parkway" station – just two minutes from the A30.

During the election campaign the Secretary of State Chris Grayling announced the plan to reintroduce a trial rail service between Okehampton and Exeter by the end of 2018.

Mr Rush who has submitted detailed proposals for the new station said ‘With the business park and at least 120,000 residents in West Devon and North Cornwall without a nearby rail service there is a very clear need to restore rail connectivity into Exeter for both work and leisure. Rail services throughout Britain are becoming revitalised in recent years. The reintroduction of the Okehampton services is long overdue.’

Devon County Council is working closely with GWR, Dartmoor Railway, Okehampton and OkeRail on the design of the required infrastructure for the station."

https://okerail.2day.uk/

 

[PHILIPE]

"Groundworks for a 300 space car park have been carried out on Devon County Council land for the "Okehampton Parkway" station – just two minutes from the A30.

During the election campaign the Secretary of State Chris Grayling announced the plan to reintroduce a trial rail service between Okehampton and Exeter by the end of 2018.

Mr Rush who has submitted detailed proposals for the new station said ‘With the business park and at least 120,000 residents in West Devon and North Cornwall without a nearby rail service there is a very clear need to restore rail connectivity into Exeter for both work and leisure. Rail services throughout Britain are becoming revitalised in recent years. The reintroduction of the Okehampton services is long overdue.’

Devon County Council is working closely with GWR, Dartmoor Railway, Okehampton and OkeRail on the design of the required infrastructure for the station."

https://okerail.2day.uk/

Politicians often say and promise things and then go away and forget about them.

 

[richw]

The Devon council carrying ground works for the car park is the closest I can find to an official source.

I was expecting something from GWR, or Network Rail to be about.

How quick will it take to construct a platform, I assume being an effectively out of use line it will go up quicker than somewhere like Cranbrook where the line was in hourly use.

 

[yorksrob]

Great stuff. I'll certainly give it a spin if it becomes daily.

 

[Ash Bridge]

The Railfuture Devon & Cornwall Autumn Meeting is being held at The Boniface Centre, Crediton, Devon EX17 2AH on Saturday 25/11/2017. At 14:10 there will be an update from Oke-Rail presumably about the proposed new service?

 

[Bwlch y Groes]

If the service becomes daily to the Parkway station, will the Saturday only service to the old/current station be automatically ditched?

 

[yorksrob]

If the service becomes daily to the Parkway station, will the Saturday only service to the old/current station be automatically ditched?

The poster doesn't suggest the service will be terminating short of the current station ?

 

[Bwlch y Groes]

The poster doesn't suggest the service will be terminating short of the current station ?

Yeah, though I was always under the impression that the reason they had to build a new station was because they can't use the old one for a daily service - hence why they haven't started running the service already

And of course it's Sunday only, not Saturday

 

[fireftrm]

richw the 'heard nothing official' may be because someone (you?) scrubbed out the names/logos of the official organisations involved. Any one of them could probably have answered this question.

 

[yorksrob]

Yeah, though I was always under the impression that the reason they had to build a new station was because they can't use the old one for a daily service - hence why they haven't started running the service already

And of course it's Sunday only, not Saturday

That seems a shame if they can't, considering it's been done up quite nicely.

 

[221129]

This has been around for a while now. May 2018 I have heard. the daily service will be to Parkway only not to Okehampton.

 

[Parallel]

Is the proposed site to the Parkway station within walking distance of the town? It’s a shame if the trains can’t run to the main Okehampton station - even if it’s two trains a day at commuting times.

 

[yorksrob]

If its near Stockley village, it looks a bit more of a trek to the town centre for pedestrians unfortunately.

We shall have to wait until the reopening through to Tavistock by the looks of it.

 

[Dave P]

Yeah, though I was always under the impression that the reason they had to build a new station was because they can't use the old one for a daily service - hence why they haven't started running the service already

And of course it's Sunday only, not Saturday

My understanding is that the point of the new station was to provide a park and ride facility with hundreds of parking spaces. There just isn't the room for that at the town station.

However, I don't see why the service shouldn't continue to the old station to turn round, which is what the poster seems to suggest will be the case.

Does anyone have official confirmation of what the proposed service will be?

 

[Parallel]

It’s quite exciting to see how this will take off - I hope it will be quite successful, though we’d need to have a rough idea of what the services will be. Can trains to/from Okehampton/Barnstaple split/join at Crediton, to save from delays snowballing along the single line?

It’s exciting to think what may happen in the future - there are a lot of possibilities if this goes well, such as restoring an interchange at Yeoford, doubling the line between Crediton and Cowley Bridge Jn, reopening stations between Sampford Courtenay and Yeoford, and of course, reopening more of the line towards Tavistock.

I’m looking forward to seeing this project go ahead.

 

[richw]

richw the 'heard nothing official' may be because someone (you?) scrubbed out the names/logos of the official organisations involved. Any one of them could probably have answered this question.

It was sent to me by a friend, the logos were already scrubbed out, barring Okerail. I’m not sure why.

I’ve posted this same original post to another forum where I know a member of okerail posts regularly so hopefully a response will come there.

 

[shredder1]

It will be nice to see it reopened, the last time I travelled the line was behind a red warship in the 70`s

 

[richw]

Okerail have posted the following on Facebook...

There are posters going up in Okehampton with misleading information regarding the trial.

1. The poster says the trial will start in 2018. This not accurate. No date has been set by DfT yet. Talks are being had by them with GWR as soon as we know a date we will say. In truth 2019 is more likely.

2. It says that there will be a 300 place park and ride. While there will be a car park, there has been no absolute commitment yet. 300 would be the absolute maximum but doesn’t allow for buses. A park and ride in the sense of those in cities, is not what is being looked at. Work is going on now relating to the New Parkway station and the car park. We will post about that when we can.

3. It also says that it will run through to Exeter Central. While this is an aspiration, at the moment there is no commitment. GWR are aware of the importance of Central as a destination and it is part of the discussions going forward.

4. Logos. None of the organisations have given permission for their logos to be used on this poster. I know for sure that DCC are unhappy because of the misleading messages.

Why am I making a thing about this? DfT insist on communities having the same focus. If there is any apparent dissenting within groups that are leading, that could stop discussions and the DfT could look elsewhere.

If anyone wants to discuss this further, drop me a message and I will happily do so.

Kev Ball.

 

[gazthomas]

If you’re in to property speculation Okehampton is still attractive and will become more so once the daily service finally comes to fruition

 

[The Ham]

From:

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/local-news/great-western-railway-ordered-start-1141088.amp

Great Western Railway ordered to start running regular Okehampton trains
Campaigners say a link between Okehampton and Plymouth must be the next step

The Transport Secretary has given the go-ahead to run regular scheduled train services from Okehampton.

Campaigners are celebrating tonight after Chris Grayling ordered Great Western Railway, the franchise holder, to prepare for a regular service.

The last time the town had a full-time rail link to the outside world was more than 40 years ago. Since then, it has been served mainly by heritage trains.

Dr Michael Ireland, vice chair of the OkeRail Forum, said: "After 10 years working tirelessly undertaking research on demand for this service, I am pleased to learn that the Government has agreed to introduce a regular train service.

“This will be a tremendous boost to the economy of West Devon and North Cornwall, opening up new opportunities for businesses, training and tourism in the region.

“Towns like Bude, which rely on inbound tourism, will suddenly find they are much closer in time to new markets.

“The next step must be to reconnect Okehampton to Plymouth to provide resilience in rough weather.“

In a letter to Westcountry MPs, Mr Grayling wrote: “We have instructed GWR to prepare plans to introduce regular train services to Okehampton, with the objective of securing a credible and costed plan for delivering an all-week, all-year train service between Exeter and Okehampton as soon as reasonably practicable.

Mr Grayling said the vulnerable Dawlish main line remained the number one priority. “Ensuring we find a permanent solution for this vital connection is never out of mind.

Labour MPs Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) and Luke Pollard (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport) said they were abstaining on the High Speed Rail Bill, which was debated in Parliament yesterday.

“Can’t vote for billions for another region today when the South West gets so little in transport funding,” Mr Pollard wrote on social media.

“If there is money for high speed rail why can't we have our fair share?”

Does anyone have any other sources about this.

 

[yorksrob]

Good to hear of some solid progress. I wonder if the service will begin before the new station's built.

 

[JohnR]

This months Modern Railways has an article on Exeter-Okehampton. In there it suggests that with a fair wind, a 2-hourly service is possible by the May 2021 timetable.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm assuming a "daily service" means "two daily return services at roughly commuter times", otherwise this is probably not really going to do a lot.

 

[VP185]

Great news but I like to know where the DfT will think the rolling stock is coming from. Short enough of stock as it is.

 

[IainG81]

The case for an alternative route to the SW is something i think is a possibility and much needed after the Dawlish Sea Wall problems last year kind of crazy only one route in and out of a while region.

Think maybe two services a day one in each peak probably to start hopefully GWR give this a serious go.

 

[yorksrob]

Personally I'm a bit worried if it is two trains a day each way. For a service to take root I think people need to know that they can catch a train any time of day. Surely if you've got the unit and the track, it makes sense to run it backwards and forwards all day ?

 

[JohnR]

I dont think the aim is for 2 trains a day - its for trains every 2 hours.

 

[gazthomas]

This months Modern Railways has an article on Exeter-Okehampton. In there it suggests that with a fair wind, a 2-hourly service is possible by the May 2021 timetable.

That seems a long way away as I write this

 

[yorksrob]

I dont think the aim is for 2 trains a day - its for trains every 2 hours.

One of the posts above suggests that 2021 is the earliest a full service will be available, which seems quite a way into the future.