COSTS for the reinstatement of a railway from Tavistock to Bere Alston have ballooned to £93-million, councillors have been told.

In July this year, the Times ran a story saying that the cost of reinstating the rail link was in the region of £70-million and that adequate funding was not available.

Last week members of the West Devon overview and scrutiny committee heard that the cost projections for the reinstatement of the railway had risen by a further £23-million.

As part of the Devon Metro proposals, the re-opening of this section of line was due to provide a new, sustainable link between Tavistock and Plymouth for commuter journeys.

It would help to minimise traffic on the A386, link Tavistock to the national rail network and also provide an alternative travel option for leisure, education and retail journeys.

The station and track was set to be funded by development planned for Tavistock but Devon County Council’s recent ‘A386 Tavistock to Plymouth Corridor Study’ concluded reinstating the rail link from Tavistock to Bere Alston, was not viable at this time.

Speaking at the overview and scrutiny committee meeting last week, representatives from Devon County Council confirmed they were not actively lobbying central government at this moment to reinstate the Tavistock to Bere Alston rail line.

Instead, their top priorities were to get funding for the remainder of the Dawlish to Teignmouth rail line, improving mobile connectivity travelling by rail and creating a diversionary route around the Exeter Waterloo line.

Councillors on the committee though did request that Devon County Council increase its lobbying efforts to ensure that funding was made available for the Tavistock to Bere Alston line.

They also wanted a segregated cycle route adjacent to the busy A386 to be further investigated and wished for a number of lessons to be learned from the proposals to reopen the Okehampton to Exeter rail route.

• To read more, pick up a copy of this week’s Tavistock Times.