Okehampton Interchange will open Devon 'gateway'

Work has begun on a new railway station that will "open a gateway" to Devon.

The Dartmoor Line has been closed to allow a week-long "intense period of work" at the new Okehampton Interchange, during which track has been moved to allow a new platform to be as accessible as possible.

The station is being built on the eastern edge of Okehampton, about 2.2km (1.4 miles) away from Okehampton station, which reopened in 2021 after 49 years as part of the then government's Restoring Your Railway initiative.

Network Rail manager Alex Phillips said: "This is going to be a new one-platform station that is going to open so many doors for the people of Devon and connect into the wider railway network."

Network Rail programme manager Daniel Parkes said work due to be finished by the spring of 2026 would allow "real connectivity" in north Devon.

The track had to be moved one metre (3.3ft) as it was on a "really tight curve", to make sure the stepping distance was "sufficient " for the train.

The station will have a footbridge with a lift to make it "fully accessible", with a bus stop linking to a new housing estate.

The stretch of the Dartmoor Line behind Exeter Road Industrial estate, on the edge of Okehampton, is a hive of activity, Network Rail says, and work is being done as quickly as possible to reduce the impact on commuters who already use the Dartmoor Line.

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