A REINSTATED rail line between Tavistock and Bere Alston, linking the town with Plymouth has been welcomed by a West Devon MP.

Sir Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon, hailed the government’s announcement two weeks ago as the biggest investment in the area for 50 years.

He visited Bere Alston Station last Friday (October 13) which will be linked to Tavistock with five miles of new track and a new station in the town. Joining him were Peter Crozier (Bere Ferrers Parish Council chairman, Brian Lamb (Bere Alston rail enthusiast) Debo Sellis (Devon County councillor) and Richard Searight, leader of TavyRAIL (campaigner for the reinstatement of the link).

Sir Geoffrey said: “It’s fantastic news that after years of pressing for this decision, finally we have the go ahead fo the Tavistock/Bere Alston railway to be rebuilt and provide a gateway from West Devon and into West Devon in and out of the rest of the country.

“This will bring economic benefits where companies are more likely to set up here knowing they have a much improved transport link.

“Tourists will come here in greater numbers and local people will have the choice to commute to and from the area and not have to move to where their jobs are. Also, if employers do move into the area because of the railway, then families and younger people will be more likely to stay where they’ve been brought up.

“In many ways the railway is good for communities and travelling by train is also an enjoyable experience in itself.”

An added benefit would be environmental, with potentially fewer cars on the A386 to Plymouth and less pollution. An important part of the project would be an environmental assessment which would take into account biodiversity and the impact on nature of the new track, said Sir Geoffrey.

He added: “This funding annoucement is a cumulative achievement from the efforts of many councillors who recognised the potential for reinstating the line after it was closed, along with others across the country. The Tavistock link is also part of the bigger picture which includes the Okehampton to Exeter line which my family use a lot and the parkway station.

“The next step is the Tavistock to Okehampton line, which will be more expensive that the one to Bere Alston. My dad used to use the railway a lot when younger and he found it very useful.”

Sir Geoffrey is due to meet Network Rail and the rail minister to press for a timetable of works leading up and including the project being completed: “I’ll be doing a lot of prodding and urging things onward, so it is a priority for transport officials and Network Rail. After all it’s been 15 years of hard work by elected members of various authorities and county officers. We don’t want to wait another 15 years.”

The project is forecast to cost £90m, including the track and a new Tavistock station.

Richard Searight said: “The Tavistock link wil be as good as the Okehampton to Exeter link and bring big socio-economic benefits. Importantly, it will be a resilient route.”