THE latest special one-off train from Okehampton organised to help convince the Government to bring a regular passenger service back to town has been described as ‘fantastic’.

The sun was shining on a beautiful spring morning as the Royal Oke train pulled out of Okehampton Station at just gone 7am on Saturday, taking passengers to Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford. The journey, organised by campaign group OkeRail, was similar to one organised from Okehampton to London in 2017.

The aim of both the 2017 and 2018 trains is to show an appetite for rail services in Okehampton — since the turn of the year, secretary of state for transport Chris Grayling has confirmed the government has instructed Great Western Railway ‘to prepare plans to introduce regular train services to Okehampton, with the objective of securing a credible and costed plan for delivering an all-week, all-year train service between Exeter and Okehampton as soon as reasonably practicable’.

Among those aboard were management team representatives from Great Western Railway (GWR), who rode the train to assess public support for the line.

This gave councillors the chance to put forward their case for better rail connectivity. Devon County Council had senior members aboard the train.

Cllr Michael Ireland, an Okehampton town councillor who has been deeply involved with OkeRail and the campaign to bring train services back to the town, said that on the return trip, he and GWR West development manager Matthew Barnes discussed the possibility of two further special trains to keep further campaigning alive.

The potential ‘Atlantic Coast Express’ train would run from Okehampton through Crediton and Exeter on its way to London’s Waterloo Station later this year, potentially close to Christmas to provide people in the area the chance of a day out of festive shopping in the capital.

The last ‘Atlantic Coast Express’ train left Padstow on September 5 1964. The famous train that had for so long linked London with north Cornwall’s Atlantic Coast ceased to exist. Lines south of Okehampton were closed some two years later and the era of steam and rail travel in much of rural Devon and Cornwall came to an end.

Cllr Ireland said: ‘This would be a real first for the campaign to open the line to Exeter from Okehampton and eventually to north Cornwall to see the “ACE” return.’

The Hatherleigh community supported the train, with a 53 seater bus bringing people from the town to Okehampton Station and a carriage purely for Hatherleigh residents to visually indicate the support from their community. People from Bude, Holsworthy and even Penzance were aboard the train.

Hatherleigh mayor Claire Tyson said: ‘The service on the train was fantastic, the staff friendly and helpful, and the smooth journey made the whole experience very relaxing.

‘On the return journey home everyone recollected their day and shared the stories and experiences they’d enjoyed, and some rounded off the day with an alcoholic tipple which helped to forget about tired legs.

‘As we got closer to home we were also lucky enough to witness a lightning storm in the distance!’

OkeRail campaigner Dr Michael Ireland said: ‘This wasn’t just an Okehampton jolly. What was demonstrated yesterday was the demand from the communities very close to Okehampton, namely Hatherleigh, for a regular service. It adds weight to our plans for a trial service from 2019.’