Tarka Line - Exeter to Barnstaple - services, passenger numbers, carriages, engineering works, incidents and events

[whole diary]

[The SprinterMeister]

I think if you provide better service to these stations people will use it.

The problem is that they won't. I think you've been watching 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' too many times. The various incarnations of Turners 377 Chulmeigh - Exeter bus which has been running since 2000 has made steady inroads into the local traffic South of Eggesford. It has to be said that the buses have grown the overall Market for public transport to include those to whom the train wasn't really an option due to the distance / location of the stations relative to the villages.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

The more I think about it the more I agree.... However I do not agree with closing them totally and I DO NOT agree with missing copplestone that is a station which could gain usage

[FlyingDutchman]

Maybe I have watched The Titfield Thunderbolt and the Field of dream to much. But with the cost of petrol going up and the various bus companies will only keep the routes going so long.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

Some people just won't travel... Free bus pass or a third off rail, no car with bus stop outside the house but 2 mile walk to the station

[FlyingDutchman]

I am suprised the Devon & Cornwall Railcard or the Group Saver Tickets is not advertised more to get people on the line.

I think there is a new evening ticket.

[Umberleigh]

I think if you provide better service to these stations people will use it.

The problem is that they won't. I think you've been watching 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' too many times. The various incarnations of Turners 377 Chulmeigh - Exeter bus which has been running since 2000 has made steady inroads into the local traffic South of Eggesford. It has to be said that the buses have grown the overall Market for public transport to include those to whom the train wasn't really an option due to the distance / location of the stations relative to the villages.

The evidence is that rail passenger numbers south of Eggesford have seen pretty much year-on-year increases since 2000.

Going by the latest available figures, all the stations south of Eggesford have seen an increase in passenger numbers, including Crediton and Newton St Cyres which both face extremely tough competition in the form of regular double decker bus services.

My feeling is that the 377 service may be a bit of a red herring, and I've seen quite a few pass me with barely a soul on board.

[polymath]

You have to realise that the 377 bus service (and many of the others) does not run in the evening or on Sundays, whereas the Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line rail service is a seven day a week service running until at least 9 to 10pm (later on a Friday!).

[The SprinterMeister]

You have to realise that the 377 bus service (and many of the others) does not run in the evening or on Sundays, whereas the Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line rail service is a seven day a week service running until at least 9 to 10pm (later on a Friday!).

I know that, they stop trains at Lapford on Sundays as for some reason people sometimes catch trains there when the Turners 377 isn't running..

[The SprinterMeister]

Maybe I have watched The Titfield Thunderbolt and the Field of dream to much. But with the cost of petrol going up and the various bus companies will only keep the routes going so long.

Some people just won't travel... Free bus pass or a third off rail, no car with bus stop outside the house but 2 mile walk to the station

The County Council were at one time underwriting part of the Turners 377 route on the basis that Devon Villages are increasingly becoming places for people to retire to. And some of the retirees physically arent capable of getting from the villages to the stations. The over 60's get free travel on the bus but not on the train (unlike Northern Ireland). However the renumeration the bus operators recieve in terms of grant, fuel duty rebate and in respect of the over 60's bus pass determine whether the bus services are viable or not. I don't think its a simple as costs V's farebox revenue.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Mid Devon Gazette:

'Don't close stations' MP tells department

Passengers fighting to prevent station closures on the Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line say their campaign is gathering momentum.

The Exeter to Barnstaple line runs through a large part of Central Devon MP Mel Stride's constituency and he has promised to do what he can to keep stations open to allow communities as great an access to public transport as possible.

Mr Stride has submitted proposals to the Department for Transport as it considers which rail company will run the Greater Western Franchise from next April.

Other submissions have gone in from communities, including one from the Tarka Rail Association.

The closures have been suggested by the North Devon Rail Users' Group in its submission to the franchise consultation.

Now Mr Stride's submission to the department argues against that. Some residents fear their station may be at risk of closure if it is poorly used as there is pressure to speed up journey times between Exeter and Barnstaple by reducing the number of stops.

"There is considerable support for keeping all stations open on this line," said Mr Stride. "I have written to the department underlining this and I hope it takes this into account when awarding the new franchise. It is very important we provide as much opportunity as possible for people to use the community rail network."

[The Grecian]

I am quite impressed at the way 3 or so people is now considered 'pressure'.

As far as it goes anyway, it'd be pointless closing any stations between Crediton and Eggesford, given that trains have to cross there in order to run an hourly service and the speed limits in place on the line. Given that the wait at Eggesford can be leisurely due to the safety procedures involved, I can't see that closing a few stations so people can sit at one further along the line will help.

Newton St Cyres had a fair few people using it the other Saturday evening - presumably either heading into Exeter for a night out or back from the Beer Engine. Either way serving it when the buses won't seems to make sense.

You could possibly argue that Portsmouth Arms and Chapelton wouldn't be badly missed - but since barely any trains stop there and they're request stops so trains don't necessarily stop anyway, it would barely make any difference to the timetable. They may well be used in the peaks anyway, I'll admit I haven't been along the line then. So any closure of stations might save one or two minutes on the journey. Doesn't exactly seem worthwhile.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the North Devon Gazette:

After falling asleep on a late-night train, a Barnstaple man ended up walking 20-miles through the night to get home.


Geoff Berry wrote a heated letter to First Great Western explaining what he had been through.

A MAN had to walk five hours through the night after falling asleep on the train and ending up in the middle of nowhere.

Geoff Berry was due to arrive at Barnstaple around midnight on the train from Exeter, but he dozed off and was startled when he woke up to find himself travelling in the opposite direction.

Mr Berry, from Barnstaple, had visited friends in Reading for the day on April 6 and had been exhausted after a 7am start.

He said: ^I woke up around 12.20am, and realising that we were moving and there was no one else on the train, I went and found the guard.

^I said to him I had meant to get off in Barnstaple but had fallen asleep. He told me I would have to go back to Exeter and get a taxi home.

^I was furious. I asked him who exactly was going to pay for this taxi, and after a rather heated debate, he agreed to let me off at Eggesford.^

Stranded around 20 miles from home in the dead of the night, the 52-year-old had no one to call, and started the long walk home, hoping to be able to hitch a lift.

But, cold and angry, he trekked for five hours not seeing another soul and arrived home at around 6am.

^It took me all weekend to recover,^ he said. ^I was angry that the guard had not checked the train for passengers before starting the journey back to Exeter.

^The guard told me he had announced twice over the tannoy that we had arrived, but I didn^t think that a good enough response. There were only two carriages on the train. It would not have taken much to check them.^

Mr Berry wrote to First Great Western, which runs the Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line service from Exeter to Barnstaple, complaining about his experience.

In a reply, the company said it was ^genuinely sorry that you feel so let down^ but it would not be offering any compensation.

The letter read: ^If the train is due to return to the depot after its last journey, then there is an obligation on our crew to proactively check the train for passengers, before it leaves.

^However, this is a moot point in the circumstances in question, as when our 22:52 train left Barnstaple, it was still operating as a public service (not returning to the depot).

^Ultimately the final onus of responsibility remains on each customer in ensuring they leave the train in time.^

In response, Mr Berry said: ^I had not realised it was still a passenger train, I had thought it was just travelling back to the depot.

^Even so, there are only two carriages, and I don^t think it would have taken much for them to check before they set off.^

[SandTEngineer]

Well I'm sure we have all nearly done that at least once.  I have experience of being overcarried at least twice after consuming a few and made my own way back without ever complaining (I would be too embarrassed anyway to call anybody )

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

Press button, hello first great western can i help .... oh hello please could you help me ive become stranded at your station and am unable to get phone signal please could you call me a taxi, yes ok sir not a problem

[vacman]

Oh, so it's FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s fault that he fell asleep on the train then? This country is getting more like America every day where by people just cannot accept responsibility for their own actions!