In a couple of years it would be good if all Okehampton trains could call at Newton St Cyres and Yeoford, thus reliving any Barnstaple services from having to do so. As a second stage I would look to remove the stops at the other stations between Crediton and Barnstaple except for Copplestone, Lapford, and Eggesford. Some careful revaluation of what can be accommodated around the restrictive token block and the less than perfect location of the passing loop under those conditions would probably enable a few minutes saving for end-to-end times with almost no loss of intermediate traffic. The stakeholder management would be nigh on impossible, but this line only has a few years before it will become an environmental concern in my view, and the large population catchment in North Devon, as well as the status of Exeter, means it could be saved with some investment 5 - 10 years from now, such as resignalling and a dynamic passing loop. Of course, there would be some who would say that money should be made available right now to improve the signalling, increase the max permissible speed and add more double track, and I wouldn't disagree... but in general it is much easier to make an investment case if you have already demonstrated that you are making the best possible use of the assets you have.
Last edited:
.)
