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Northern & Southern Dartmoor Rail Route Debate

Press Release from TavyRAIL.

1. The Tavistock line is the most significant infrastructure project to address urban deprivation in Plymouth, one of the most deprived city areas in Southern Britain. 
2. Transport infrastructure projects are one of the most effective ways to 'level up' low income/poor economy areas. 
3. Rachel Reeves has said that while borrowing to fund ongoing govt. expenditure is misguided, it is wholly acceptable to borrow to fund capital expenditure, when a significant economic benefit will follow. 
4. Everyone agrees that the country needs a long-term transport investment plan* that doesn't chop and change. Given the real benefit the Tavistock line will bring to Plymouth, continuing the stop-start-stop approach to this project will do untold harm.  

* 'Public transport is a key enabler of economic, environmental and social prosperity’ (the Institution of Civil Engineers, 2023). 

June Newsletter

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TavyRAIL contribution to Britain Remade Event in Tavistock Town Hall

Address by TavyRAIL 24th April 2024

The leaflets for this meeting tonight announced that it would be held in the Rundle Room - which holds 40 people. This in part was because Britain Remade didn’t realise the full extent of the massive popular support there is for the return of our Tavistock to Plymouth line. We are in the Town Hall because around 200 people wanted to come!

The reinstatement of our link is the all-important second phase of the restoration of the entire Northern Route between Exeter to Plymouth – via Tavistock.  It is crucial both to Tavistock and the wider region. The line will take us directly right into the heart of Plymouth (Plymouth Central station) - and so will have a massive impact on Tavistock and West Devon and indeed Plymouth.

The Beeching Report was a catastrophic failure of both judgement and vision. It identified 2,363 stations and 5,000 miles of railway line for closure. Ultimately 55% of UK stations were to close. It is generally agreed that closing both Tavistock lines was among the ten worst closures. They had a massive impact on Tavistock and the whole of West Devon. When on May 5, 1968, the last train left Tavistock North Station, Beeching cut off businesses, families and whole communities once dependent on the railway.

The closure also badly effected city of Plymouth which was left with a single main line running along a beach! This was effected high winds / tides, rock falls, sea level rises and Tesco delivery drivers knocking down bridges. Ten years ago, the Darwish disaster closed the line for six weeks during which the peninsular lost approaching a one billion in revenue – enough to cover the whole of the Northern Route restoration 

Today there are perhaps even more reasons to reconnect the Tavistock Plymouth section. Firstly our population has increased from 9,000 to over 12,500. Secondly, the A386 into Plymouth has become increasingly congested – and will become even more so when over two thousand new houses north of Plymouth come on stream. Thirdly, the climate emergency. As you read this an iceberg the size of Wales has broken off Antarctica. Sea levels are rising

Where are we now? The success of the Exeter to Okehampton Dartmoor line restoration demonstrated the potential future success of our line when restored. Over 500,000 people used the Dartmoor line in its first two years of operation. Additionally, the restoration line made a monumental difference to Okehampton as a town and as a region. It is now to get a second station. The restoration of the Tavistock to Plymouth line would make a similarly huge difference to Tavistock High Street, our communities, West Devon and West Plymouth.

There is massive cross-party political support for our line. But for the death of our dear late Queen four MPs last September, we were to have a meeting in our Town Hall to celebrate the presentation of our BID. It was to be attended by Minister for Transport, Sir Geoffrey Cox MP and two other MPs. I have not the slightest doubt that that meeting would have been as well attended as this meeting

What now?  We need to maintain our relentless enthusiasm and support for the cause.  We also need to ensure that our MPs are kept fully aware that their success in the coming election is going to be in part dependent on their support for the restoration of the Tavistock Plymouth line.

What can you do? Above join us, attend our events and email your MP. Find us on Facebook or on www.tavyrail.2day.uk – today!

Richard Searight

Chair of TavyRAIL