HEFTY bills from the Health and Safety Executive, who put Dartmoor Railway in the same category as industry giants Railtrack and Great Western Railway, are hampering development plans at Okehampton Station.

Dartmoor Railway are appealing against the charges set by the HSE which set them back over £1,000 every time they want to make changes on the railway.

'The railway is developing quite a bit at the moment and so we have to keep making changes to what is called the 'railway safety case,' said general manager of Dartmoor Railway David Payne.

'The inspectors charge £115 an hour for this service and it's a minimum of ten hours.

'Dartmoor Railway does not make a profit yet we have to pay out the same as firms like Railtrack and Great Western whose profit each year extends to hundreds of millions of pounds.'

West Devon MP John Burnett, who has taken the case up with Keith Hill, the under-secretary of state for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, said the system of charging was 'ludicrous'.

'I will be pursuing this through parliamentary questions because it is grossly unfair,' he said. 'This system of charging does not take into account the amount of use of the railway.'

The railway company leases a 15-mile piece of track from Meldon Quarry to Coleford Junction and operate trains from Okehampton to Meldon Quarry. It also provides a Sunday Rover service to Exeter during the summer and several steam and diesel trains use the line for special excursions throughout the year.

Recent developments have included changes to the track to allow two trains into the station at one time, improvements to the platform and signalling changes.

Dartmoor Railway, which took over the lease of the Okehampton Station buffet, model shop and museum last year, is hoping to expand the business with themed events at the site including murder mystery weekends and romantic trains rides, the introduction of a steam train on the Dartmoor Pony Service, more frequent trains to Exeter and train trips for special interest groups.

Mr Payne said there would be constant changes to the railway over the next few years but because of the cost they could not all be done at once.

'We feel that the money taken in inspectors' income could be used for further improvements here,' he said.

'We end up paying more sometimes on inspectors' fees than the material things of actually doing the work.'

The firm would be exempt from charges if its maximum line speed were below 25 mph and therefore come under the classification of a 'heritage railway', but parts of the track go up to 60mph.

Mr Payne said reducing the line speed to 25mph was an option but it would hamper the future of the railway, especially trains to Exeter which had to fit in with the mainline timetable.

The general manager said what the railway needed more than anything was more support and more passengers.

'More visitors and people coming through the system will help local businesses and provide employment, which will in turn enhance the Okehampton area,' he told members of the town's chamber of trade this week.

'To run a railway is no easy job but at the end of the day it is well worth it — keeping the railway alive is my task in life.'