A successful application was made by the Tarka Line Association for a grant via Greater Western Railway's Community Fund which was launched earlier this year in order to support local communities and aid social needs.
The rail operator's contract with the Department for Transport sees that Great Western Railway supports schools, colleges, councils, community and other not-for-profit organisations, helping a number of initiatives.
In a bid to boost Bideford by extending the Tarka Line into the town of 30,000 people, the Atlantic Coast-Exeter Railway Project (ACE Rail) intends to do so by improving the current line by adding a second reduced stop service which operates hourly, connecting Bideford with Exeter Central in just 60 minutes. The proposed extension of the Tarka Line will avoid the Tarka Trail.
The project will move forward with the development of the case by firstly creating an Initial Business Case in order to answer questions such as ‘Why do this, over something else?' Further questioning will investigate where the line will go, where stations will be and where will the funding come from.
Tarka Rail Association Chairman Mike Day said: “We're extremely grateful for this funding from Great Western Railway, which has helped us to engage an independent specialist advisor to produce an Initial Business Case for the Atlantic Coast-Exeter Railway, the association's ACE Rail campaign, reporting by next March.
“We're grateful, too, for the guidance and support with strategic advice over the past 18 months from independent national rail development campaign Railfuture, which has also contributed financially.
“We have developed a strong base of stakeholder and public support to drive forward a shared ambition to transform the prospects for Devon's largest community without its own rail service since 1965.”
GWR Business Development Director Tom Pierpoint said: “The Community Fund is a fantastic opportunity for us to invest in our communities in projects that really make a difference at a local level.
“We've seen with the reopening of the Dartmoor Line to Okehampton how a local community can benefit from having rail services restored. We're pleased to provide this funding, which can help towards further exploring the idea of extending the Tarka Line to Bideford.”
Read. Bideford, would be a very good top opportunity, to have a new railway built, along near tarka trail, to barnstaple, and Exeter, why not bring forward plans to reopening a new railway, from torringhton, along with bideford, this would be a very good top opportunity, for people to used. instead of using buses, this can be done with lottery grants and government, grants and the same way as weston-super-mare, somerset, birnbeck pier new walkway, all uk, railways, can be brought back to life, its not rocket science, this something wellworth going for.
Torrington simply does not have the scale of population required to make a credible case.
I think the Barnstaple to Bideford line should be reopened this would give Bideford access to Exeter and Barnstaple access to Bideford