New Station for Okehampton

[trainmania100]

Coming in 2025.

The West Devon Transport Hub project will deliver a brand new, purpose-built railway station as an exciting next step for the Dartmoor Line.

The station is planned to open in 2025 as part of the £15 million project.

Funding comes from the government’s Levelling Up Fund (£13.4m), Devon County Council (£1.4m), West Devon Borough Council (£120,000) and Network Rail (£25,000).

West Devon Transport Hub - The Dartmoor Line

INTRODUCING West Devon Transport Hub Map transcript West Devon Transport Hub will see a new station built approximately 2.2km north east of the existing Okehampton station (which will continue to operate). The new station will be a 2-minute drive from the A30. See more detailed map The West...

dartmoorline.com

Not quite as far up the line as the old sampfore Courtenay station

Apologies if already mentioned elsewhere.

 

[John R]

Discussed here:-

Okehampton - 2 Years On

The 1 year on thread is closed so here is a new one. Predictably, even more success and doom laden predictions wrong....again. https://dartmoorline.com/2023/11/celebrations-in-okehampton-as-more-than-550000-journeys-made-in-first-two-years-of-dartmoor-line-reopening/ The previously...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[D Williams]

200 parking spaces does not seem adequate given that most will be long stay ie arrive early am and leave pm. Much cheaper to over provide at the design and build stage than have to find the money for expansion in a couple of years ahead. Tiverton Parkway operates at max capacity.

 

[Snow1964]

Name has been revealed as Oakhampton Interchange

THE name of a new a railway station near Okehampton has been revealed in a special ceremony.
Key figures visited the site of the planned new station on Friday, May 11 to hear that the new station will be called the Okehampton Interchange.

Name of new Okehampton railway station revealed at ceremony

THE name of a new a railway station near Okehampton has been revealed in a special ceremony.

www.bude-today.co.uk

 

[MarkyT]

Name has been revealed as Oakhampton Interchange

Name of new Okehampton railway station revealed at ceremony

THE name of a new a railway station near Okehampton has been revealed in a special ceremony.

www.bude-today.co.uk

Better than 'Parkway', which seems silly now many busy stations have big car parks. I suspect its custom will mostly arrive by car nonetheless, but it looks like the station will be at the end of a town bus route so that might also bring passengers in from surrounding estates, and active travel corridors are being improved. All looks pretty well planned. Parking at the old station is limited.

 

[Irascible]

200 parking spaces does not seem adequate given that most will be long stay ie arrive early am and leave pm. Much cheaper to over provide at the design and build stage than have to find the money for expansion in a couple of years ahead. Tiverton Parkway operates at max capacity.

Tiv PW is 38 years old(!) and mid-Devon has grown considerably and in a way I don't think anyone would have imagined since then ( and the station's had a car park extension ) - you can somewhat forgive them. I agree about Okehampton, it's unlikely there'll be any alternatives to some sort of car for the last leg in it's catchement area for the forseeable future. I suppose calling it "Interchange" implies they really want people to take a bus though - in that case how about doing it properly & having combined tickets & actual connections.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Okehampton Interchange sounds so dull and bland. It will be interesting how this station will affect the usage of Okehampton station itself.

 

[Irascible]

Okehampton Interchange sounds so dull and bland. It will be interesting how this station will affect the usage of Okehampton station itself.

If they were really foward thinking they could call it Okehampton Junction & have bus lines on the same service map...

 

[NickBucks]

Or Okehampton Transport Hub with buses, electric bike provision and in the future driverless pods.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Or the more traditional railway nomenclature 'Okehampton East'. The existing station would be 'South' - calling it 'Central' would be stretching a bit.

 

[BrianW]

Okehampton Interchange sounds so dull and bland. It will be interesting how this station will affect the usage of Okehampton station itself.

Okehampton North Tors/ Okehampton Paragon/ Okehampton International/ Old Okehampton Common/ Okehampton East for Wild West Devon/ Okehampton Village/ Okehampton University/ ...?
Not up to me, thankfully

EDIT- for info-how many folk 'bike it' at present to Okehampton?

 

[Irascible]

"Atlantic Gateway" ( please don't )

 

[jamieh27]

"Atlantic Gateway" ( please don't )

As of yesterday the new station on the Dartmoor line will be offically named as Okehampton Interchange.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 May 2024 ==

Okehampton Interchange sounds so dull and bland. It will be interesting how this station will affect the usage of Okehampton station itself.

I would have preferred Parkway than Interchange as its only one platform where as another station with Interchange at Bradford has 4 and trains usually go in and come out.

 

[30907]

As of yesterday the new station on the Dartmoor line will be offically named as Okehampton Interchange.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 May 2024 ==


I would have preferred Parkway than Interchange as its only one platform where as another station with Interchange at Bradford has 4 and trains usually go in and come out.

Bradford Interchange was/is so called because of the interchange possibilities via the bus station adjacent. There is hardly any need to interchange between trains (whereas at Bristol Parkway there is!).
I can see Devon's point in wishing to promote interchange with buses over car parking - assuming of course that they all divert there.

 

[The exile]

Bradford Interchange was/is so called because of the interchange possibilities via the bus station adjacent. There is hardly any need to interchange between trains (whereas at Bristol Parkway there is!).

In the 40+ years since it was named (after the M32, not the car park!) Bristol Parkway has assumed roles that the planners would never have dreamt of. Can’t imagine it saw much use in 1972 as an inbound destination or, with the paucity of local services and through NESW trains from Wales, as an interchange either - though the latter was of course always available.

 

[jamieh27]

Bradford Interchange was/is so called because of the interchange possibilities via the bus station adjacent. There is hardly any need to interchange between trains (whereas at Bristol Parkway there is!).
I can see Devon's point in wishing to promote interchange with buses over car parking - assuming of course that they all divert there.

I think there will be bus transport at the new station on Dartmoor line.

 

[CptCharlee]

West Devon Interchange would have been a good name.

 

[Farigiraf]

Would this not be the perfect time to reintroduce Sampford Courtenay calls, as a request stop? (or formally close it once and for all)

 

[LUYMun]

Would this not be the perfect time to reintroduce Sampford Courtenay calls, as a request stop? (or formally close it once and for all)

A wiser use of fund would've seen Yeoford's second platform reopened.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Would this not be the perfect time to reintroduce Sampford Courtenay calls, as a request stop? (or formally close it once and for all)

Sampford Courtney has a fairly active Community Rail Partnership who are campaigning for reopening. They keep the station site tidy and weed free. It even has tactile paving! The station currently has no lighting either which is not unsurmountable but who would pay for it is another thing.

 

[Chris 76]

As of yesterday the new station on the Dartmoor line will be offically named as Okehampton Interchange.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 May 2024 ==


I would have preferred Parkway than Interchange as its only one platform where as another station with Interchange at Bradford has 4 and trains usually go in and come out.

So glad it's not going to be another Parkway, which means nothing more than 'has big car park, near a trunk road or motorway'. 'Interchange' suggests connection opportunities with all kinds of transport, not just between train services. Bradford Interchange was developed by West Yorkshire PTE as a combined rail and central bus station.

 

[BrianW]

So glad it's not going to be another Parkway, which means nothing more than 'has big car park, near a trunk road or motorway'. 'Interchange' suggests connection opportunities with all kinds of transport, not just between train services. Bradford Interchange was developed by West Yorkshire PTE as a combined rail and central bus station.

Like Hull- a paragon in this regard?

 

[30907]

I think there will be bus transport at the new station on Dartmoor line.

Precisely, hence calling it Interchange.

 

[Cowley]

Precisely, hence calling it Interchange.

Definitely. I think it’s a fairly decent name actually. It puts some of the emphasis on the fact that it’s an interchange for that area of Devon, whereas Okehampton Parkway makes it sound like a place to park and get the train into the town (which it kind of isn’t).

 

[The exile]

Okehampton Parkway makes it sound like a place to park and get the train into the town (which it kind of isn’t).

Don’t think that’s the function of any of the existing Parkways named “town Parkway”. You could do it at Bristol - but there wouldn’t be much point.

 

[Cowley]

Don’t think that’s the function of any of the existing Parkways named “town Parkway”. You could do it at Bristol - but there wouldn’t be much point.

That’s a very good point.

 

[uglymonkey]

I think you should have "Exeter Parkway". If they can get away with Luton Airport, London. They can get away with Exeter Parkway.

 

[Gloster]

With the current love of things retro, why not call it Bude Road, possibly with ‘for Okehampton, Holsworthy & Clovelly’ below? Or they could call it Tavistock Parkway and claim that ‘Tavistock has rejoined the network’, without having to bother with rebuilding the line north of Bere Alston.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Prior Approval to construct the station was given / granted on 20 September 2024. Reference for looking up on the West Devon planning portal is 2396/24/PAS.

Thanks to @Sir Felix Pole for this news item in the Okehampton Times.

Second Okehampton railway station to open in 2026
THE timeframe for completing Okehampton’s second railway station is tight but it is still on course to open in February 2026.
The track design has been completed, and the 200-space car park design and “active travel” elements are now commencing for Okehampton Interchange station, which has secured £13.5 million of levelling up funding.

Vegetation will start to be cleared on site as soon as Natural England has approved a licence that shows the effect on dormice has been considered.
Work on the station has already cost nearly half a million pounds, and a further £5 million is being spent in the current financial year. The remaining £9.5 million will be used in the following 12 months, according to a report for West Devon Borough Council’s hub committee.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

As of yesterday the new station on the Dartmoor line will be offically named as Okehampton Interchange.

So train calls at Okehampton Interchange, then Okehampton? I can see that causing some confusion: It's not at all common for 'Interchange' to be used as a station name suffix - so not the kind of thing you'd expect. But on the other hand it wouldn't be at all surprising for someone to refer to a station as an 'interchange' if they believe connections are available there. Put those two together and you have potential for people to think that 'Okehampton Interchange' actually means 'Okehampton' or vice versa.

If they are going to call the new station Okehampton Interchange, then they really ought to rename the existing station to Okehampton Town or something similar to reduce the risk of confusion.