CAMPAIGNERS who want the Government to back their plans to reinvigorate the Exeter-Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth railway line said their meeting last week with the Secretary of State for Transport was definitely a positive one.

With the Government looking to improve transport links to the South West following the debacle of the rail line collapsing at Dawlish earlier this year, alternatives are being considered for the Plymouth-Exeter rail route.

Geoffrey Cox, Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon, led a Tavistock and Okehampton delegation on behalf of local government and businesses to meet with the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport, on October 22, to discuss the re-opening of the Okehampton railway line through to Tavistock and Plymouth.

The Peninsula Rail Group wants to persuade the Government that of the five options open to them — four of them avoiding the Dawlish seafront line — the Okehampton option is not only the cheapest option but will regenerate the economy of mid, west and north Devon.

Richard Searight, chairman of the PRG, said the meeting was a significant step, and that it was equally important that Network Rail has been asked to reconsider its advice.

'The Minister had read our "fact sheet" and was obviously most impressed. Our arguments are, after all, just based on facts,' he said.

Mr Searight said that Network Rail, the track operators, estimated it would cost £875-million to build the Okehampton option for a dual track, but a single track could bring that cost down to £650-million. This compared more than favourably with other options, whose estimates by Network Rail would cost respectively £3.16-billion, £2.5b, £2.2b or £1.5b.

Mr Searight told the Times: 'Going forward the crucial thing is to speak with one voice. Now that Network Rail has established the speeds achievable on the northern Okehampton route are directly comparable with those on the Dawlish avoiding routes, the debate has come down to the additional benefits for growth and jobs in our region and, of course, Plymouth in particular, which currently has minimal connectivity with its northern hinterland.'

Mr Searight claims that the key benefits for the Okehampton option include a minimum of 20% economic uplift plus jobs related to the construction and running of the line itself. He said the Okehampton option was 40% cheaper than any other resilient line.

Despite Plymouth politicians 'leaning' towards improvement of the southern route (through Dawlish), Mr Searight argues that if the city went for the Okehampton route Plymouth itself would benefit with jobs and growth from the access to north, plus faster trains. Also a second line would be an economic boost for Plymouth as it is currently one of the few major cities with only one railway line.

MP Geoffrey Cox helped present the campaigners' case and raised their cause in the House of Commons the next day.

Mr Cox told the Times: 'The reinstatement of this line through Okehampton and Tavistock would require the addition of just 15 miles of track and would create much needed connections for West Devon with the rest of the country, linking rural areas with nearby cities and towns.

'It would also improve the resilience of the South West, should further bad weather hit the area as was the case at the start of this year.'

Mr Cox pressed the Secretary of State to ensure that the case was made for the line's reinstatement and to give those in attendance the chance to put their points to him directly.

He told Mr McLoughlin there were three main reasons why this line should be reinstated.

'It is clearly a strong solution to increase the resilience of the area; it is plainly the most cost effective solution with only 15 miles of track to be added; and it will bring significant economic benefits to the area.'

The MP subsequently raised the issue on the floor of the House of Commons with the Secretary of State, thanking him for the useful meeting and urging him to examine 'the compelling case' for a strategic route to Plymouth via Okehampton.

The Cabinet Minister said that all options were open in building resilience in strategic communications to the South West, which was the Government's objective in carrying out its review.

Okehampton's mayor Cllr Paul Vachon attended the meeting with the minister. He spoke of the economic downturn Okehampton and its hinterland towns have suffered as a result of the recession, and said the town had lost many of its large employers in recent years.

He said: 'Envisage Devon and Cornwall as a peninsula divided by a horizontal line starting just north of Exeter and extending to Land's End. Below this line, approximately one third of the landmass contains a very affluent, well populated area, with all the largest cities, major tourist facilities, business investment and wealth.

'Compare this with above the line — small towns, lower population, smaller businesses, rural isolation and an economy that has stagnated since the Beeching cuts. The difference between the two areas is that the south has a functioning railway network connected to the rest of the country, while the north has not.

'The Secretary of State for Transport took all of this onboard and was pleased to receive our information.

'Our argument was that should the line be reinstated, this would not only provide an additional link between Exeter and Plymouth, but also give the opportunity for Okehampton to become a hub for integrated transport for the hinterland towns and communities of West Devon and North Cornwall. They would then be in a better position to regenerate their ailing economies.'