DEVON County Council is hopeful the second phase of restoration work at Okehampton Railway Station which includes bringing a platform and footbridge back into use will be well underway soon.

Subject to funding, which is being finalised at the moment, the down platform will be brought up to trade specifications and both platforms will be connected by a footbridge.

Part of the track will also be relaid to take the Dartmoor Railway shuttle train which goes to Meldon Quarry and the car park is being extended to cater for 30 more vehicles.

Tim Davies, head of transport co-ordination at Devon county council, which owns the railway station, said the final phase of the work would be to restore the building on the down platform.

'We are hopeful that some of work for phase two will be done by the start of the summer season but it is all subject to funding,' he said.

Roy Gibbs, who runs a business at the station and leases part of the site from the council, said the work would open up all sorts of possibilities and it was a step closer to the dream of having commuter trains.

'The ballast trains run during the week to Meldon Quarry— the new track will mean a second train can be held in the station,' he said. 'This is vital if we want to run commuter trains in the future.'

Mr Gibbs' business is currently on the market and he said the promise of the phase two work had come just at the

right time.

'This is great news for whoever takes it on,' he said.

The site is being considered as a starting point for the National Cycle Network because cyclists will be able to catch the shuttle, board their bikes and join the route at Meldon Quarry.

The car park will more than double in size.

The county council is committed to running the Sunday service between Exeter and Okehampton through the summer season again this year.