Well, it has now almost been officially acknowledged that dismantling Okehampton-Bere Alston was a mistake (R4 Today programme this morning). There is currently a plan to re-open Bere Alston-Tavistock, although it seems to be taking forever to get anywhere. So there you have a start. With Tavistock re-connected there may be a better case for Okehampton-Tavistock to provide a regional, local + suburban service Exeter-Crediton-Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth, which could also be an emergency diversionary route, timings would be slow but better than no link at all as we have now! There could then be bus links Okehampton-Bude and Tavistock-Launceston with the possibility of re-opening to Launceston using the more direct GWR route from a point north of Tavistock allowing a Plymouth-Tavistock-Launceston service.
Bodmin, Wadebridge & Padstow are really quite close to Bodmin Road but given the steeply graded and tightly curved route of the Bodmin & Wenford it is difficult to see how any train could achieve a better timing than a bus.
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I think this is probably the most likely eventual outcome if the money/political pressure can summoned.
Bodmin, Wadebridge & Padstow are really quite close to Bodmin Road but given the steeply graded and tightly curved route of the Bodmin & Wenford it is difficult to see how any train could achieve a better timing than a bus.
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I've been thinking about a route away from the sea wall and I think the best thing to do would be to build a 125mph route coming off just south of Exeter cutting straight across to Newton Abbot. This would avoid the sea wall and give a much faster intercity route to Plymouth and Cornwall.
I think this is probably the most likely eventual outcome if the money/political pressure can summoned.
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