Now that the Department for Transport has approved the funding to reopen the line, Network Rail engineers will start upgrade work immediately and over the next few months will lay 11 miles of new rail, replace 24,000 sleepers and install over 29,000 tonnes of ballast before running test trains on the track ahead of fully reopening the railway to passengers later this year.Concrete More ➔ “Next steps to upgrade the line”
We’re delighted that award-winning Devon artist Becky Bettesworth has allowed her fantastic Dartmoor artwork to be used as the flagship look for our homepage. It will also appear on an upcoming Dartmoor Line railway station poster – watch this space!Becky’s work draws inspiration from the classic railway posters of the 1930s, making the partnership a perfect fit. More ➔ “Working with Becky Bettesworth”
As this fantastic photo from Network Rail shows, a huge number of concrete railway sleepers have already been delivered on site ready to begin work. But there’s more to come. What you see here represents only half of the 24,000 new sleepers required to allow trains to run safely later this year. More ➔ “The great wall of sleepers”
Over the past 6 months, Network Rail has been carrying out detailed investigations to understand what infrastructure and signalling improvements are required to bring the Dartmoor Line up to modern standards to enable GWR passenger trains to operate safely.This has involved assessments of the railway line, structures such as bridges, level crossings and drainage. More ➔ “Restoring the Dartmoor Line infrastructure”
Local people have long campaigned for the return of regular year round services between Okehampton and Exeter.The campaign took a key step forward with the forming of the OkeRail Forum in 2014. An initiative of the County Council, this brought campaigners, council representatives and a range of other interested parties together with the aim of mounting a concerted, targeted effort to achieve reopening.Forum More ➔ “The story so far: the campaign for reopening”