This month's Heritage Railway has a feature on the possible reinstatement of part of the Exe Valley line, closed in 1963. This is a bit of a no-brainer, the line ran through glorious Devon scenery and started near to Exeter. It also served the large town of Tiverton. It could hardly fail, particularly as its USP would be to use small engines in a branch line style. A small part of the line already sees trains, the Devon Railway Centre at Cadeleigh (pictured above). These are however 2 foot and 10 1/4" gauge, though there are several standard gauge railway carriages in the station with model railway layouts inside.
Alternatively the Tiverton to Tiverton Junction line may be restored. Why not both - a 'real' train service connecting to the main line at Tiverton Parkway, and a heritage route towards Exeter, the best of both worlds?
It is insane that a town the size of Tiverton is not currently on the network. Parkway stations will be clear losers in a post Peak Oil world as they are designed to be used by that endangered species, car drivers.
1 comment:
Hi there,
I agree - I believe Tiverton is the largest town in Devon without a station within its boundaries.
You may be interested in the website http://www.tivertonrailway.org.uk
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