I AM a member of the Destination Okehampton Working Group. We produced a report to Devon County Council about the benefits of the former LSWR line. There is much that is positive here but also a few 'errors'. It must be pointed out that the Okehampton/Tavistock line would regenerate a significant area of Devon and Cornwall and generate extra business along the line. The Okehampton route is the only one that provides additional traffic and it also has a huge catchment area. If capital costs are viewed as investment, then operating costs could be covered by revenue. There would be extra business generated for Plymouth and Exeter as well.  With optimisation of curvature, journey times could be reduced for a non-stop journey to around 50 minutes at relatively little additional cost. Not far off the 49 minutes quoted non-stop via Dawlish. Reversals would only lose five to seven minutes for one reversal and ten to 14 for two. Not the 14-20 minutes quoted in the report. Times from Plymouth to Exeter could be as little as 57 minutes with HST trains and even less with Voyager types, comparable to times now on the current line. From Cornwall with two reversals it would be a maximum of 65 minutes. It also improves speeds and capacity on the Tarka line. Suburban stations in Plymouth would not need Cornish trains to call at them, so would reduce journey times to Cornwall.  The report agrees that higher line speeds are capable on the Okehampton/Tavistock route as opposed to the current line — we believe up to 110mph. Apart from the Teign Valley line (which is not resilient) our line is significantly cheaper than other options. Though extra costs were quoted for electrification, many lines around the country have limited clearance as do many structures on the current route. Destination Okehampton was advised that the cost of getting Meldon Viaduct up to the ability to carry trains was £15-20-million. Do we really need a new viaduct? What about a single track over the viaduct as at Largin in Cornwall? Mention is made of our line solving all resilience problems between Exeter and Newton Abbot. None is made of it adding resilience between Newton Abbot and Plymouth. Whenever the line is closed here the Okehampton route can help and keep trains moving. In summary, the Okehampton/Tavistock line is the cheapest (by some £500-million), solves resilience problems over a far greater area, is capable of handling all traffic, and will generate new custom much more effectively than any other option. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to regenerate large areas, creating new business opportunities and wealth, improve rail services on lines that already have them and open up new passengers to the Railway. A more detailed survey still will show just how good this route can be. If Network Rail, or indeed any MP, would like to see the information we have produced then we would be more than happy. Chris Bligh Member Destination Okehampton Working Group