COUNCILLORS who wish to see a permanent rail link return to Okehampton are urging the public to 'let the train take the strain' to prove there is demand for rail travel.

The Sunday Rover service, which runs trains from Okehampton Station to Exeter each Sunday throughout the summer months until September, ran its first trains last weekend. Advocates of a permanent rail service through the town are desperate to see people use the rover trains and prove to decision makers in government that there is an appetite for better transport links to Okehampton. One of the most staunch advocates is Cllr Dr Michael Ireland, chairman of Destination Okehampton, a town council working group.

The group was set up to look at ways to make the town a more enticing and exciting destination for local people and tourists alike. In the last year or so one of its key focuses has been improving the chances of returning the railway to Okehampton.

Cllr Dr Ireland said that a well-used Sunday Rover service would add strength to the argument that Okehampton and the wider community would benefit from the return of a rail line. He also expressed his disappointment at the lack of publicity for the service.

He said: 'Keeping the Sunday Rover running and well used is essential this year as we lead up to the possible reinstatement of the 'Northern Line'.

'It is in my view a shame that the publicity and timings for the train have not been circulated to our councils and even our Devon County Council representative seems not to have been given all this information.'

The Destination Okehampton working group has produced a leaflet giving information on the Sunday Rover to get to Exeter and other destinations in Devon. The leaflet can be downloaded from the Okehampton Town Council website.

Okehampton's town mayor Cllr Paul Vachon shares the opinion of Cllr Dr Ireland that footfall at Okehampton Station could have a role to play in whether the Northern Line is reinstated.

He said: 'I went up to Okehampton Station last Sunday for my usual afternoon tea and was greeted with the hustle and bustle of a fully working railway station. Trains were arriving and departing in both directions — Dartmoor Railway to Meldon and the Sunday Rover to Exeter.

'I hope this will be the scene during weekdays in the near future. Okehampton needs this link and the Sunday Rover proves that this is viable.

'The town's economy will certainly improve with the tourists the railway will bring. It's now imperative that we promote it and let the people know that Okehampton is on the map, open for business, and well worth visiting.'

The case for re-establishing rail links from Plymouth to Exeter via Okehampton and Tavistock to offer more resilient rail options hit the headlines following the severe damage to the Dawlish line during the winter storms of 2014. Large parts of the region were cut off during the line's closure.

Since then there has been genuine hope for the first time in decades thta rail line could return to Okehampton.

'Both the Secretary of State for Transport and parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Transport have visited Okehampton in recent months to discuss the reopening of the line and the Department for Transport is undertaking a feasibility study looking into reviving the route,' said Cllr Vachon.

To find out more about the Sunday Rover service and its times, visit the Okehampton Town Council website http://www.okehampton.gov.uk">www.okehampton.gov.uk