RESIDENTS in East Cornwall and West Devon are being urged to give their views on proposals to re-open the railway between Tavistock and Bere Alston to link with the Tamar Valley Line.

Devon County Council wants to reinstate the section of railway, which closed in the 1960s, to help minimise the impact of traffic resulting from planned development to the south and south-west of Tavistock, including 750 new homes.

Information days will be held by the council in Tavistock and Bere Alston next Wednesday and Thursday (January 30 and 31).

Passengers travelling on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth will change at Bere Alston should the railway go ahead — assurances are being sought that the branch line, which is well used by people for work, schoolchildren and tourists, will not deteriorate in the desire to make a successful commuter service from Tavistock to Plymouth.

Calstock parish councillor Ian Kirk has said he was concerned with the Gunnislake to Plymouth train being busy in the mornings if Tavistock became a popular service people would be fighting to get on the train.

He said there was a lack of rolling stock nationally, but it was vital the trains had enough carriages to take all the passengers who wanted to use the service.

The proposals include the construction of a 9km new single track railway to link Tavistock to Bere Alston and on to Plymouth and the opening of a new cycleway and footpath which will link Tavistock with the Bere Peninsula. The pedestrian and cycle route will also link with other existing cycle and pedestrian trails in Tavistock to ensure good access to the station, as well as provide an attractive leisure route.

A new station in the Callington Road area of Tavistock will include facilities for passengers as well as parking, cycle storage and links to local bus services to ensure good access to the town centre. The existing station at Bere Alston will also be upgraded.

The aspiration is eventually to have an hourly service between Tavistock and Plymouth.

The new railway line will use the structures, cuttings and embankments left intact when the original line was decommissioned, although some strengthening work will need to be done to bring them in line with modern load standards and ensure they are suitable for the life of the railway.

The project forms part of West Devon Borough Council's Core Strategy, which was adopted in April 2011, and funding will largely come from developer contributions alongside contributions from Central Government and Devon County Council.

Devon County Council has underlined the importance of this project by identifying it for investment over the next 15 years in the Local Transport Plan.

Cllr Stuart Hughes, Devon county council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: 'For many years there has been an ambition to re-open the railway line between Tavistock and Bere Alston.

'When the line was taken out of use in 1968, it left the A386 as the primary link between Tavistock and Plymouth which has understandably become very congested in recent years.

'Re-opening it will help minimise traffic on the busy A386 by freeing-up the highway network to improve the consistency of bus services and improving travel options for residents and businesses with a direct rail service on the popular commuter routes between Tavistock and Plymouth.

Local residents are being urged to attend the information days which will take place in Tavistock Pannier Market on January 30 from 9.30am to 4.30pm and in Tavistock Town Hall from 5.30pm to 8pm, Bere Alston Station from 2pm to 5.30pm on January 31 and Bere Alston Village Hall from 6pm to 8pm.