CAMPAIGNERS are to step up their fight to reinstate?the Plymouth to Exeter rail link via Okehampton and Tavistock as a report is published by the Department of Transport this week. Details of a Network Rail report specifying proposed alternative rail routes to the vulnerable Dawlish line were leaked inaccurately, Okehampton Town Council was told at a meeting this week. Councillor Michael Ireland told the meeting of the full council on Tuesday that contrary to speculation, no decision will be made from the — as yet unpublished — report, which includes reinstating the Okehampton line as one of five options available, until the Government makes a decision on it in the autumn. Media reports in the last two weeks alleged that sources had said that building an alternative to the major railway would be 'prohibitively expensive'. Cllr Ireland, chair of town council working group Destination Okehampton, said: 'The Network Rail report is not yet available but it has been leaked inaccurately. No decision will be made on the route before the autumn. An immediate response can be made once the report is out.' Cllr Ireland updated the council on the actions that have been taken by Destination Okehampton so far in making a strong case for the Exeter to Plymouth route via Okehampton, not just as a complementary route in adverse weather, but as a way of regenerating the economy of West Devon, Torridge and North Cornwall, including working on trying to get a celebrity champion to back the case and attempting to get local MPs on board. The council had already agreed to be a lead authority, among other councils, parishes and organisations across the region, to commission an independent professional assessment into the actual costs and the economic benefits of reinstating the Okehampton line. During the meeting, councillors agreed to fund an advertisement in the industry magazine 'Rail Professional' for a rail consultant to create the report. The working group hopes the report will highlight the importance of the reinstatement of the Okehampton line, not just to present an accurate journey time between Exeter and Plymouth of 51 minutes and 32 seconds — which Cllr Ireland said compared favourably to one of the arguments against the line — but to highlight the economic advantages, including the long term benefit cost ratio of the line to communities it would serve and the generation of employment, skills development and access to a wider market. Cllr Ireland said: 'It is about more than rail resilience, it is about economic regeneration. We want to continue to fight for this whatever the outcome of the Government decision.' After the meeting, Cllr Maureen McDonald said she and Cllr Ireland were working on a proposal for funding to put before the council's policy and resources committee. She said: 'The proposal will be for the town council to set up a fund to support Destination Okehampton to the tune of around £2,000, which is equivalent to one percent of the precept.' The second part of the proposal will be to write to Tavistock Town Council and other interested parties to ask for financial support to the same extent. If this happens, Destination Okehampton and other councils involved will set up proper terms and conditions for the management of the fund.' If the proposal is agreed, the fund would be used to start the process of creating the report. Any hired consultant would then carry out the majority of fundraising for the report themselves. The proposal is due to be put before the policy and resources committee on July 28, and the decision ratified by the full council at a later date.