Devon Metro

The Devon Metro is a proposed rapid transit–style service on the regional rail network in Exeter and its environs,[1] which Devon County Council has been working to establish since 2011.[2][3][4] The intention is to move towards a Devon Metro service through a series of improvements to the current network, including opening new stations at Cranbrook, Newcourt, and Marsh Barton.

Construction at Marsh Barton station in 2021, part of the Devon Metro project.

Routes

The planned Devon Metro incorporates services on the Riviera Line from Exeter to Newton Abbot and Paignton, the Avocet Line to Exmouth, the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, and the West of England Main Line as far as Honiton,[5] with some sources also including the rest of the county's rail network.[2]

Completed enhancements

Cranbrook station
Main article: Cranbrook railway station (Devon)

Cranbrook railway station opened in 2015.[6]

Newcourt station
Main article: Newcourt railway station (England)

Newcourt railway station opened in 2015.

Riviera Line timetable changes

As part of the Devon Metro project, frequency on the Riviera Line between Exeter and Paignton was increased to four trains per hour,[7][8] which has also had the effect of increasing the frequency of the Avocet Line to Exmouth.

Also as part of the project, in the 2020 timetable change, the Tarka Line service between Barnstaple and Exeter was segregated from the service on the Avocet and Riviera Lines from Exmouth to Paignton via Exeter. It has been proposed that the Tarka Line could now be extended east from Exeter to Honiton along the West of England Main Line.[5]

Marsh Barton station
Main article: Marsh Barton railway station

Construction work started at Marsh Barton in April 2021.[9] The station was added to the National Rail timetable in May 2022, eventually opening for passenger services in July 2023.

Proposals

Plans to create a Devon Metro also include new stations at Okehampton Parkway, Torquay Gateway, Cullompton and Monkerton. Furthermore, the council wishes for the Dartmoor Railway to be extended to serve the town of Tavistock, which would revive a connection provided until 1968 by the Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR.

References
  1. "Background - Marsh Barton railway station". Devon County Council. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. Clark, Daniel (5 August 2019). "The Devon Metro proposals - eight years after they were launched". Devon Live. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. "DEVON METRO – A SUMMARY" (PDF). Avocet Line Rail Users Group. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  4. Thompson, Bruce; Tozer, Dave; Abbott, James (23 February 2021). "Devon Metro moves forward". Modern Railways. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. https://citizensrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Avocet-Line-Rail-Users-Group.pdf
  6. "Cranbrook train station opens today". Express & Echo. Exeter. 13 December 2015. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  7. "Half hourly Paignton services to be restored". 21 February 2014.
  8. https://committees.exeter.gov.uk/documents/s37205/Transport%20Initiatives%20and%20Issues%20Update%20Appx%201%20Final.pdf
  9. "Work starts on Exeter's Marsh Barton station". Modern Railways Online. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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