Rebuilt rail link 'could give £1bn economic boost'

Railfuture says the economic benefits could be seen by the year 2040

The possible reintroduction of a train service between between Barnstaple and Bideford could generate up to £1bn for the local economy, according to a rail group.

The Northern Devon Rail Development Partnership is looking at extending the current Tarka line between Exeter and Barnstaple back into Bideford, with a half-hourly service and other improvements to produce the economic benefits by 2040.

Roger Blake, of Railfuture, which leads the partnership, said any plans would first "look at restoring the original route along the Tarka Trail", but with guarantees a continuous trail must remain for walkers and cyclists.

If approved, any construction would take at least three years to complete.

Roger Blake, of Railfuture, said there was still lots of feasibility work still to be done

Mr Blake, who acknowledged there were many hurdles to overcome and it was more a long-term strategy, said the trail and the railway "would have to adapt".

"At Fremington Quay, the railway would have to move and not go through the quay by constructing a bit of new railway inland as a bypass," he said.

The group insisted there was a "huge appetite" to start a feasibility study into the restoration of the Barnstaple to Bideford line, and the re-introduction of the Exeter to Okehampton line had proved how successful it could be.

Mr Blake said the next stages were to "test strategic fit so we answer the question why bother doing this at all".

The next part of the feasibility test was looking at "complexity, which is focused on how do we do it, given that we feel we have a case to be doing it in the first place", he added.

Members of the group also said they were looking at possible funding and setting out a valid business case before presenting it to the government.