Okehampton

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Hopefully they'll build the platforms long enough for some nice 80x's that can run directly to London, or perhaps the good folks at GCHQ Bude might like to chip in a few quid to enable their staff to travel direct via CrossCountry to Cheltenham ;-) 

I thought they used the Orient Express.

[grahame]

Congratulations to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and the Okehampton team on winning "Station of the Year - Small" at last night's National Rail Awards

[RichardB]

The Mayor of Okehampton cut a cake in a small ceremony at the town's station yesterday to celebrate the second anniversary of the station and Dartmoor Line fully reopening.

More info here  https://dartmoorline.com/2023/11/celebrations-in-okehampton-as-more-than-550000-journeys-made-in-first-two-years-of-dartmoor-line-reopening/

and here https://www.radioexe.co.uk/news-and-features/local-news/happy-birthday-okehampton-line/

[RichardB]

There's more information about the new station to be built at the east end of Okehampton, 2 mins drive from the A30, here https://dartmoorline.com/west-devon-transport-hub/ plus an Autumn update on the project here https://dartmoorline.com/2023/11/autumn-update-west-devon-transport-hub/

The final name for the station is still under discussion, but it won't be "West Devon Transport Hub" which is the project name.

[TonyK]

This is another example of how passenger estimates for new rail services prove to be a lot lower than what actually happens, while the reverse is more often the case for cheaper alternatives. The integrated bus service shows the sort of joined-up thinking we need to see more of. If anyone at Devon County Council is watching, please take this as a plug for a similar initiative between Tiverton and its eponymous Parkway. The town is growing fast, and the current provision means travelling to the station by car is the only sensible option. I am sure other towns would be able to make similar pleas with equal justification.

[johnneyw]

The "Railways of Devon and Cornwall" Facebook page has some pictures of Okehampton station where the winds have blown the footbridge roof onto the tracks by the platforms   My GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) app also says that services have been cancelled due to parts of a bridge falling onto the track between Crediton and Okehampton.  Seems that no one was hurt thankfully.

[infoman]

a small amount of film footage of the damage shown on Spotlight local news at 18:30pm on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.

 LOCAL NEWS AVAILABLE FOR TWENTY FOURS ONLY ON THE CATCH UP THINGY

[RichardB]

I was digging through some papers and found the 1997 Devon County Council press release about Devon's purchase of the station and Meldon Viaduct, the great refurbishment of the station and the new Summer Sunday services.   Thought it would be of interest so here it is -

[The Tall Controller]

It appears the official name for the new parkway station at Okehampton is now Okehampton Interchange

https://dartmoorline.com/okehampton-interchange/

[REVUpminster]

Got to spend the money on a party before they can't build it because prices have gone up.

Still waiting on Edginswell, new entrance at Newton Abbot, and lifts at Torquay. Planning permission will/has run out on all three. Also platform 2 at St David's

https://news.gwr.com/news/i-bet-you-didnt-know-the-name-of-the-new-okehampton-station

[Noggin]

Got to spend the money on a party before they can't build it because prices have gone up.

Or before Labour get in and decide no more goodies for "posh southerners"

[TonyK]

Or before Labour get in and decide no more goodies for "posh southerners"

Have you been to Okehampton? 

[Noggin]

Or before Labour get in and decide no more goodies for "posh southerners"

Have you been to Okehampton? 

I have, that's why I used quotation marks 

[TonyK]

Have you been to Okehampton? 

I have, that's why I used quotation marks 

" "