Devon Metro

The Devon Metro is a proposed rapid transit–style service on the regional rail network in Exeter and its environs, which Devon County Council has been working to establish since 2011. The intention is to move towards a Devon Metro service through a series of improvements to the current network, including opening new stations at Cranbrook, Newcourt, and Marsh Barton.

Routes

The planned Devon Metro incorporates services on the Riviera Line from Exeter to Newton Abbot and Paignton, the Avocet Line to Exmouth, the Tarka Line to Barnstaple, and the West of England Main Line as far as Honiton, with some sources also including the rest of the county's rail network.

Completed enhancements

Cranbrook station

Cranbrook railway station opened in 2015.

Newcourt station

Newcourt railway station opened in 2015.

Riviera Line timetable changes

As part of the Devon Metro project, frequency on the Riviera Line between Exeter and Paignton was increased to two trains per hour, which has also had the effect of increasing the frequency of the Avocet Line to Exmouth.

Also as part of the project, in the 2020 timetable change, the Tarka Line service between Barnstaple and Exeter was segregated from the service on the Avocet and Riviera Lines from Exmouth to Paignton via Exeter. It has been proposed that the Tarka Line could now be extended east from Exeter to Honiton along the West of England Main Line.

Marsh Barton station

Construction work started at Marsh Barton in April 2021. The station was added to the National Rail timetable in May 2022, eventually opening for passenger services in July 2023.

Proposals

Plans to create a Devon Metro also include new stations at Okehampton Parkway, Torquay Gateway, Cullompton and Monkerton. Furthermore, the council wishes for the Dartmoor Railway to be extended to serve the town of Tavistock, which would revive a connection provided until 1968 by the Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR.

References

1. Devon
2. List of proposed railway stations in England
3. Devon (rapper)
4. Newcourt railway station (England)
5. Urban rail in the United Kingdom
6. Colyton, Devon
7. Exeter
8. Michael Longfellow
9. DeVon Franklin
10. Georgia Toffolo
11. Okehampton Parkway railway station
12. Monkerton railway station
13. Marsh Barton railway station
14. Torbay
15. Plympton
16. New Haven Line
17. List of Reach plc titles
18. Disused railway stations on the Bristol to Exeter Line
19. Sidmouth
20. MetroCentre (shopping centre)