North Devon rail campaigners push for funding as Tarka Line records passenger surge

Campaigners pushing for a major upgrade to North Devon's rail line say passenger numbers on the route have hit record highs, as they begin work on a funding bid they hope could deliver a half-hourly service between Barnstaple and Exeter.

Sixteen delegates from 12 partner and stakeholder organisations, representing the Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance, met in Exeter on Thursday, July 9, to begin putting together a Strategic Outline Business Case, the first of three funding stages required before central government would consider committing money to the project.

The Alliance said the line "continues to beat all known records since 2001" for passenger volumes, with each of the first three months of this financial year setting new highs.

The first-stage business case is expected to cost around £150,000.

Campaign group Railfuture has already committed £10,000 from its Fighting Fund, built up from legacies. Roger Blake, Railfuture's national Board Director for Infrastructure & Networks and Convener of the Alliance, said: "We all need to find our own ways of putting some money where our mouths are. Central government tends to sit up and take more notice when 3rd-party sources contribute, however small or large their individual sum, and from across a broad spectrum of representative organisations."

The Alliance is targeting completion of the business case by its fourth annual Convention in early March next year, timed to coincide with the government opening calls for schemes to be funded through the next Comprehensive Spending Review, covering 2028 to 2032.

If successful, the next step would see central government commit funding towards a more detailed Outline Business Case, expected to cost several million pounds.

Tim Steer, Chair of Railfuture's Devon and Cornwall regional branch, said: "We all have to be in it to win it. It's a long slog, but the size of the prize, not just for northern Devon but actually for most of Devon's current districts, given the wider network benefits, is incalculable." He added: "A half-hourly service from Barnstaple getting into Exeter in 45 minutes? Turning that vision into reality is our mission. We must, however, be mindful of other growth-enabling schemes in the Devon Metro network, such as Tavistock-Plymouth and a West of England line upgrade, especially now that Marlcombe is due for 10k new homes."

Ian Roome, MP for North Devon, sent a message of support to the meeting, which he was unable to attend in person.

In a letter, which Railfuture has shared with the Gazette, he wrote: "Please extend my thanks to the Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance, and all the stakeholder organisations meeting again this Thursday to give North Devon's Rail Tarka Line the attention it deserves."

He said he had read Network Rail's report "Transforming the North Devon Line" with interest, adding it was "very clear" that a dependable train service "will simply be 'unsustainable' without interventions to improve the capacity and resilience of the Tarka Line itself."

Mr Roome said he had recently heard from a constituent who had caught four trains between Barnstaple and Exeter in the space of two weeks, all delayed by more than an hour, which she said had affected her education and everyday life.

He wrote: "Ahead of a new capital investment round from Spring 2028, a plan is needed that shows passengers across Northern Devon that we believe strongly in public rail for the public good."

He said Network Rail's summary of potential infrastructure enhancements between Barnstaple and Exeter suggested "a phased programme may be more realistic," adding: "Can I urge everybody in the room to be clear-eyed about this: focusing on what will make a genuine difference to passengers, in a timeframe they will see. We need a real plan that can be both paid for and delivered."

Mr Roome said a planned meeting with Minister of State for Rail, Lord Hendy, had been rearranged following a recent rail crash in Bedfordshire, but that he still expected to raise the case for the line in the coming weeks.

He also noted that a previously empty site next to Barnstaple railway station now has the first structures of nearly 200 new homes under construction, adding: "More passenger demand is coming down the line."