INCREASED political pressure is being called for to re-open the railway from Tavistock to Plymouth and end commuter congestion on the A386. Campaigners in Tavistock are lobbying West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox to step up the pressure at Westminster. Central Government backing together with an investment of less than £10-million is all that stands in the way of the scheme, say project leaders. Studies and surveys already undertaken show reopening the Drake line link with Tavistock is feasible and the proposals form part of the county and district ten-year development plans with a site for a new station earmarked at Monksmead. It has been identified as a top priority by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and a portion of the £5.8-million of funding recently secured by the Tamar Valley will be spent on improving the track between Bere Alston and Tavistock for the cycle route to run alongside. Manager of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership Richard Burningham said he was feeling optimistic: ?This scheme has been live for 10 to 15 years, and during that time it has had an awful lot of backing, but the time has never been better nationally to get it on the agenda. ?Rail costs have gone through the roof and the Government wants to get a hold of these costs ? not every line has to be maintained to the same level as the Paddington to Reading line. In rail terms £10-million is not a huge amount of money if they decide it is the right thing to do.? Mr Burningham said the old track was still pretty much intact with just an odd bit needing to be replaced: ?It?s a case of ?watch this space? because things are looking positive at the moment ? a lot of things are going in the right direction.? Tavistock Forward is championing the campaign ? group chairman John Taylor met Geoffrey Cox last Friday: ?Our MP is going to be very important because at the end of the day it is Central Government that needs to be lobbied.? He said it had been a mistake to put a station at Ivybridge because the railway was competing with the A38 dual carriageway, but the A386 from Tavistock to Plymouth was dreadful. Talks were taking place with Plymouth City Council as to the possibility of extending the service from the city rail station to Royal Parade by using a light railway/ supertram. A seasoned rail traveller, Mr Taylor said next to the Fort William to Mallaig line in Scotland the Tavistock to Plymouth route would be the most scenic railway line in Britain. He said: ?There will never be a dual carriageway through Dartmoor so the railway is the only alternative for commuters. ?The tourism potential is also huge, especially as it would link in with the World Mining Heritage and we could have a co-ordinated transport system.? He added that all the schoolchildren from Bere Alston could catch the train to Tavistock College. ?The Great Western franchise comes up for renewal next July and we will be speaking with prospective operators to see if they will get involved and finish off the work. ?We have most of the track and all the bridges and viaducts have been certified safe by engineers ? all we need is some political pressure and some money.? Mr Cox said it was very important that communications to and from Tavistock were improved and the idea of a rail link was a good one. ?I believe the time has come for this project and I will be doing all I can to support it,? he said.