Not only is nobody willing to cough up the money to build the line, no one currently is willing to cough up the 1% needed to carry out a feasibility study.
It was selected to be taken forward under the 'Restoring Your Rlys' scheme, suggesting it had merit, but then promptly cancelled by the incoming government after the election. Devon CC is not going to waste money on a feasibility study if there is no prospect of national funding - it already produced a business case for RYoR. Instead it looks as if we are going to continue shovelling taxpayers money towards London and the SE.
The Restoring Your Railways scheme was developed in a financial climate very different from now.
The growth in journeys across the Devon Metro area is impressive too.
Especially as most of it is on noisy 40 year old 150s, and not due to rolling stock upgrades or introduction of contactless ticketing to make travel easier.
And a very different political climate. Boris Johnson was a significant personal driving force behind RYR.
Comparing those two major rail items above which serve a vast area with population to match to a thread matter that discusses the lack of funding for a feasibility study to establish the possible viability of a short reopened branch line to a small settlement of not much over 10,000 residents is taking comparison rather more than a tad too far.
Then what's changed since the previous study, which found it had a weak case?
I'd say RYR achieved less than HS1 phase 2. It opened less track miles outright than Borders or Airdrie-Bathgate.
Or more likely, in the same way that some topics on this forum come up repeatedly, somebody didn’t like the answer the last study gave and thought that if they did it again maybe this time it would give a different answer.
It would be really helpful to non-locals if someone could advise what has happened /is happening /still to happen on the housing front.
In response to an earlier query raised, can I ask how many of these new houses were actually constructed by the Kilbride Group, the company involved quite some years ago now, who were involved in the original plans that included a new railway station as part of the 750 new houses development package.
In many cases 2-car trains are inadequate and were only ever built as such because of funding cuts. Many routes using 2-cars require more carriages, including Okehampton when the Interchange station opens. I witnessed a mid-afternoon arrival at Okehampton full and standing earlier this week; I am sure that didn’t feature in any forecasts.
I should have said "constructed under the area improvement plan of the Kilbride Group" in my posting. I am aware that Bovis Homes were the constructors and the development at "The Tors" has a range of two bedtoom to five bedroom properties, situated on the western edge of Tavistock. My thoughts on the matter would be governed by the car-ownership level of the house owners on "The Tors", with the range of properties there.
The issue with reopening the line between Bere Alston and Tavistock is there is already an existing "essential" service from Plymouth to Gunnislake. This currently operates with sole track occupation north of St Budeaux, with unsignalled points at Bere Alston operated by the train's crew after the train has stopped at Bere Alston, prior to reversal.
Interested = "There is money available for"
Another option would be, to reopen the entire missing section, then have the service as 1 ph, to Gunnilake, calling at all stations, and a semi fast, only calling at the major stops, which would be Plymouth, Bere alston, Oakhampton, Crediton Exeter st Davids, Exeter central, Yeovil Salisbury Andover Basingstoke, then Waterloo
Nope, no realism. I think its a banning offence.
The successor to RETB is likely to be some variant or combination of ETCS L2 and L3. That's quite a long way off the Plymouth area.
