AFTER a break of more than 30 years, a regular passenger service has returned to the former Southern Railway express route to the South West operating between Okehampton and the historic Meldon Viaduct.
The new service was introduced by Dartmoor Railway last Thursday, the Meldon Quarry based rail company currently providing summer Sunday rail services from Exeter to Okehampton.
Named the 'Dartmoor Pony' the train restores a link to a section of line that saw its regular passenger service withdrawn in the late 1960s and is the first stage of a proposal to provide connections to Exeter from the Dartmoor area.
With a whole carriage set aside for carrying bicycles, which are carried free of charge, the Dartmoor Pony fills the current 'missing link' between Meldon Viaduct and Okehampton in National Cycle Route 27 from Tavistock.
The two coach train hauled by a diesel locomotive will be operating up to and including May 1 and then weekends throughout the rest of May.
Trains depart from Okehampton Station for the 15 minute journey to Meldon Viaduct hourly from 12 noon to 5pm.
Dartmoor Railway is the name given to the 15.5 mile line which runs across the north flank of Dartmoor, from Coleford near Crediton up to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry.