Dartmoor Railway

Firstly, the last I knew was the line is owned by Aggregate Industries and is still on the market AFAIK, having been put up for sale 2 years ago, although details on their website seem to have disappeared, so maybe a sale has been concluded.

Secondly, the line is leased to BARS until 2017 by the lines owners.

Regarding Network Rails interest in the line and possible reinstatement through to Tavistock from Okehampton, they have costed it at £750m for a double track railway rebuilt to a high spec including a new viaduct at Meldon alongside the original which apparently is no longer fit for repair. This figure has a 60% uplift cost built in.
If a single track line were put through, with dynamic passing loops, similar to the Borders railway scheme. NR admit a saving of 20-30% could be achieved on the project costs.

One thing that NR state in their report detailing all the Dawlish alternatives, is that they all represent poor value for money, judged by the strict criteria they worked too in the reports brief.

 

I've just been to a conference on Dartmoor railways. A Sustrans guy said that it was unacceptable to have fast trains running past as he was cycling, so I suppose that's it.

Never mind any ideas of a reliable national network - if it interferes with lesiure cyclists, who will usually have driven there in a 4x4 to have their day's cycling, then no can do.

John

 

That implies they are ok with slower trains, which they already have alongside the cycle path from Oke to Meldon. A single track route with short double track sections would do it. NR could easily come up with a lower cost figure, by changing their methodology. What is an uplift cost anyway?

Okehampton needs the down line extended towards Exeter by about half a mile and connected to the up line, to increase station capacity and allow trains to pass there. This would make running specials easier. Full doubling to Coleford Junction would be the ideal but, this is the next best thing. The car park needs to move to the old Army sidings, west of the station, between the line and the cycle path. Then, the shed could be rebuilt, with a 70' turntable reinstated in the old still visible pit. The adjacent water tank also rebuilt, something the DRSA were intending to do anyway, although that has gone very quiet recently.

 

Sustrans are IMHO anti railway anyway, so what else do you expect? now if they were to have a more enlightened view of life, local railways can be a very good way to enhance their leasure activities, local trains can carry cycles, so they can either cycle out and return by train, or use the train to get to more interesting routes cutting down on car usage, and enabling them to cycle further than a circular route if they had to return to a car park i cycled round wales using trains in this way, staying at hostals, rather than using a car which i left at a friends in gloucester.