Tarka Line

Tarka Line
Crossing the Exe at Cowley Bridge
Overview
Type	Community rail
System	National Rail
Status	Open
Locale	Devon, England
Termini	Exeter St Davids 50°43′45″N 3°32′38″W / 50.7291°N 3.5438°W Barnstaple 51°04′26″N 4°03′49″W / 51.0740°N 4.0635°W
Stations	13
Operation
Opened	1851-1854
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Great Western Railway
Depot(s)	Exeter TMD
Rolling stock	Class 143, 150 or 153 DMUs
Technical
Line length	39 mi (62.76 km)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	Template:RailGuage

The Tarka Line (named after the animal hero in Henry Williamson's book Tarka the Otter) is a railway line from Exeter to Barnstaple in Devon, England. The line follows the River Creedy, River Yeo and River Taw for some of its route. At Coleford Junction there is a branch to Okehampton, which has recently reopened to passenger trains as the Dartmoor Railway.

Route

Communities served: Exeter – Newton St. Cyres – Crediton – Yeoford – Copplestone – Morchard Bishop – Lapford – Eggesford – King's Nympton – Umberleigh – Tawstock – Barnstaple

Parts of the line are single track, meaning that trains travelling in opposite directions must sometimes wait for each other. The full journey from Barnstaple to Exeter takes just over 1 hour, on-par with the journey time in a car.

Beyond Barnstaple, the railway used to continue to Ilfracombe or Instow and Bideford. Part of the latter route is preserved as the Bideford & Instow Railway, while sections of both routes have been reopened as cycleways on the Tarka Trail.

Services

Passenger services on the line are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 143, Class 150 or Class 153 diesel multiple units. During the summer months a Sunday-only service operates (on behalf of Devon County Council) between Exeter Central and Okehampton.

Passenger volume

The majority of passengers travel to or from Barnstaple – about three times the number of all the other stations north of Exeter. Chapelton is the quietest station in Devon. Some of the smaller stations have seen a decline in passenger numbers during the last few years, although there have been significant increases at Umberleigh, Eggesford, and Copplestone and on the line overall. Comparing the year from April 2009 to that which started in April 2002, passenger numbers at Barnstaple have increased by 71%.^[1]

Station usage
Station Name	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Newton St Cyres	1,147	702	780	889	1,662	1,868	1,784	2,774	3,212	2,252	2,760
Crediton	21,607	22,478	22,550	24,021	27,422	32,344	36,784	44,074	48,978	43,016	50,342
Yeoford	7,993	6,883	6,848	7,701	7,445	7,946	10,504	12,948	14,164	13,746	15,588
Copplestone	1,231	356	1,090	2,283	4,563	7,422	8,164	10,024	12,682	10,990	14,058
Morchard Road	4,676	3,442	2,712	2,341	2,904	4,170	6,482	8,834	11,456	11,494	11,416
Lapford	4,912	2,104	1,658	2,208	1,967	2,058	1,878	2,374	2,062	1,796	2,354
Eggesford	11,430	14,152	16,009	18,184	18,658	21,298	22,858	25,500	26,902	30,062	26,160
Kings Nympton	4,013	2,400	1,781	1,009	1,033	1,542	1,984	2,578	3,006	4,482	3,748
Portsmouth Arms	614	372	510	667	1,012	844	676	936	884	694	844
Umberleigh	7,951	8,301	10,408	12,564	13,811	16,256	17,718	19,808	22,774	31,454	34,210
Chapelton	734	472	161	120	208	176	162	190	190	258	232
Barnstaple	176,682	194,474	210,846	238,082	261,174	283,920	302,998	342,328	372,438	382,186	384,234
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve month periods that start in April. Please note that methodology may vary year on year.

Community rail

Tarka Line
Legend
Exeter to Plymouth Line to Penzance & Riviera Line to Paignton West of England Main Line to Basingstoke & Avocet Line to Exmouth Exeter St Davids 0 Red Cow Level Crossing Riverside Yard Cowley Bridge Junction Bristol to Exeter line to Taunton River Exe Newton St Cyres 4¼ Crediton 6¾ Crediton Level Crossing Salmon Pool Level Crossing Yeoford 10½ Coleford Junction 11½ ≠ Sampford Courtenay ≠ Okehampton Dartmoor Railway Copplestone 13½ Morchard Road 15 Lapford 17½ Eggesford Level Crossing Eggesford 21¼ King's Nympton 25¼ Portsmouth Arms 28¼ River Taw Umberleigh Level Crossing Umberleigh 32¼ River Taw Chapelton 34¾ Langham Lake River Taw Pill Bridge Devon and Somerset Railway to Taunton GW Line Junction Barnstaple 39 Ilfracombe Line Junction Ilfracombe Branch Line to Ilfracombe North Devon Railway to Bideford
Stations marked with ≠ only operate on summer Sundays only and are on the Dartmoor Railway. Mileage from Exeter St Davids railway station

Advertising on 150241 "The Tarka Belle"

The Tarka Line is one of the railway lines supported by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, an organisation formed in 1991 to promote railway services in the area. The line is promoted by many means such as regular timetable and scenic line guides, as well as leaflets highlighting leisure opportunities such as walking or visiting country pubs.

The Tarka Line Rail Ale Trail was launched in 2002, the first of several such schemes which encourages rail travellers to visit pubs near the line. The trail originally covered 16 pubs, and the number has risen and fallen over the years, but in 2016 is 18 pubs.^[2][3][4] There are five pubs each in Exeter and four in Barnstaple, with one each at Newton St Cyres, Crediton, Yeoford, Copplestone, Morchard Road, Lapford, Eggesford, Portsmouth Arms, and Umberleigh. 5, 10 or 18 stamps collected in the Rail Ale Trail leaflet entitle the participant to claim special Tarka Line Rail Trail souvenir merchandise.

Wessex Trains covered Class 150 2-car DMU number 150241 in coloured pictures promoting the line and named The Tarka Belle. It is still in service with Great Western Railway (Formerly First Great Western) but is currently in dynamic lines livery.

The line was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in September 2006. This aims to increase revenue and reduce costs. Among possible options are increasing the car parking at stations, looking at ways to increase the train frequency, and assisting the Dartmoor Railway to operate a connecting service between Yeoford and Okehampton.

See also

• Tarka Trail
• West of England Main Line

References

1. "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
2. Falconer, Kieran (6 September 2009). "All abroad the real ale train". Express. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
3. Hancock, Nick (16 September 2009). "Rail ale drinkers are back on right track". Express and Echo. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
4. "Tarka Line Rail Ale Trail". Great Scenic Railways. Retrieved 18 July 2016.

• Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-461-6.
• Department for Transport, Rail Group (2006), Route prospectus for the ... Tarka Line'

External links

• Great Scenic Railways in Devon and Cornwall.
• Tarka Rail Association

Coordinates: 50°53′38″N 3°52′42″W / 50.8939°N 3.8783°W