Reopening Exeter/Okehampton/Plymouth line

[paul mercer]

Re the collapse of the Dawlish line last winter there have been many sugggestions re the various options put forward by Network Rail. The one I have long supported is the reopening of the old Southern line through Okehampton and Tavistock as most of the trackbed is still intact and the costs quoted by Network Rail were considerably cheaper than boring new tunnels under South Devon (which would only save around 6 mins) and it is interesting to note that the Transport Minister went by special train to Okehampton station last week. There has been a lot of talk from people in Plymouth wanting a faster service to London as well as having the GW route electrified (which has been ready dismissed) presumably because electrics and salt water don't mix very well, whereas the Southern route would have no such restrictions if it was decided to electrify that. It seems to me that the route between Exeter and Plymouth does not lend itself to fast running, let alone at 125mph. I believe the average not stop time is around 55 minutes for an HST, a time almost matched by 6024 King Edward 1 in 2002 at 58 mins 6 secs so it would seem that any extra time saving in the future is going to be east of Exeter which may be electrified one day. As I live near Tavistock I have been encouraged by the support for the reopening, but I do have my suspicions that the Government are going to declare that they will only patch up the line at Dawlish and quietly forget that they said anything about looking at alternative options!
What to Forum members think?

[Beeyar Wunby]

Hi Paul, and welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by paul mercer

.....presumably because electrics and salt water don't mix very well, whereas the Southern route would have no such restrictions if it was decided to electrify that.

OHLE can live happily next to the sea, as it does on the ECML. But it's probably true to say that a heavy onshore storm throwing thousands of gallons of salty water over the 25,000 volt line could cause it to trip out, or at least provide a very entertaining lightning display ! I've seen some very strange things occur with the high voltages carried by the catenarys ( including the "The St Chad bridge Exploding Pigeon Effect").

.... but I do have my suspicions that the Government are going to declare that they will only patch up the line at Dawlish and quietly forget that they said anything about looking at alternative options!

Yes I'd put my money on it. Most of us here aren't taken in by ministers' promises... I remember John Prescott's words after the Clapham disaster - we must have Automatic Train Protection "at any cost". Yeah right

BW

[41225]

Shame about the airport at Plymouth though!!!!

[paul mercer]

Thanks for your replies, a picture on local news today showed an HST taking what looked like a very heavy shower!

[paul mercer]

Originally Posted by 41225

Shame about the airport at Plymouth though!!!!

True, but the runway was just too short to take anything larger than a Dash 7 and even then it was full power on take off and maximum brakes on landing to avoid ending up on the road. People also complained about the noise, i did see a small jet from the Royal flight take off one day, I'll bet that gave the neighbours somthing to moan about!

[41225]

I used the airport for work from 1978 until 2000 when I moved abroad.In 2011 I came on holiday and after a 12 hour flight got on a train at reading and I and my wife had to stand in the corridor opposite the toilet all the way to Plymouth as it was jammed packed with what seemed students!Open the airport again please ,just compulsory purchase a few houses and nock them down ,that should do it.Back to the RAIL Journey ,cant health &safety do anything about the number of people that have to stand?I mean in a sudden braking a lot of people would be thrown forward and a lot injured .

[Beeyar Wunby]

Originally Posted by 41225

....cant health &safety do anything about the number of people that have to stand?I mean in a sudden braking a lot of people would be thrown forward and a lot injured .

This question gets asked a lot. It's not easy finding a solution.

At least at the moment you have the option of squeezing into a standing space.

For example, if the TOC policy was...."You can buy a ticket from us, but it's first come/first served on the train. We only allow 20 people to stand in a carriage", then you could pay your money and maybe not be allowed on a train for hours.

There's no obvious answer to the desperate overcrowding....and all the while politicians are trying to con us that having immigrants streaming into the country is good for us.

[ianrail]

Paul,
I would love to see the Tavistock line reopened and would hope to be one of the early passengers on the reopened line but, as other members have written, we rely on politicians' promises and we know how much they're worth.

[Tony]

Wasn't the Tavistock line mainly single track with passing places and single line tunnels? How much would it cost to rebuild it to modern standards as a double track line which is needed? With our wonderful dithery politicians with their lightening quick decision making, how long would it be before completion? (After the requisite planning enquiries and judicial reviews).

[pre65]

More disruption at Dawlish.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-30040238