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Spending Review appeal for Devon railway link

Jane Douglas
Senior Journalist
Reporting fromTavistock
BBC Group of campaigners holding up rail signs saying Tavistock, showing support for the reinstatement of the Tavistock to Plymouth Rail link.BBC
Campaigners outside Tavistock Town Hall, showing support for the reinstatement of the Tavistock to Plymouth rail link

Rail campaigners are battling for £1.5m government cash in the upcoming Spending Review to make a business case for a railway link in Devon.

TavyRail campaign group would like to see a five-mile (8km) section of track between Tavistock and Plymouth reinstated.

Services to Tavistock ended in the 1960s during the cuts by Dr Richard Beeching when the railways were restructured.

The Department of Transport (DfT) said it was "committed" to delivering transport infrastructure to "boost growth and opportunity".

'Value for money'

It added: "The Government inherited an extremely challenging financial position, and these projects will be considered as part of the upcoming Spending Review."

TavyRail said only £1.5m of the project's £150m budget was needed to complete its business case and obtain necessary reports, with the remainder not required until construction in 2028.

Richard Searight, Tavyrail chairman, said the initial outlay would pay for experts to consider whether the line to Plymouth via Bere Alston would be "practical and value for money".

He said by 2028 the government would hopefully be in a "more secure" financial position.

Grade Two listed Shillamill viaduct, in open farmland, overgrown on the top where tracks used to be on the rail route between Tavistock and Bere Alston
The Grade Two listed, Shillamill viaduct, last used by a train in 1968

The previous Conservative government said savings from scrapping the northern leg of the HS2 project could be used to reopen the line between Plymouth and Tavistock.

Devon County Council (DCC) submitted a business case for restoring the line in 2022, with hourly trains to Plymouth via Bere Alston.

In 2024, the Labour government outlined plans to cancel or shelve a number of rail projects because they were promised without funding or a plan to deliver them.

Deputy mayor of Tavistock, Anne Johnson, who is also vice-chairman of TavyRail, said housing plans had been agreed "off the back of the railway" and there was a "desperate need" for it to go ahead.

Steve Hipsey, Mayor of Tavistock, said: "The current estimate is that we have about 1,600 people commuting into Plymouth every day along the A386, and that can't be a good thing in terms of sustainability and carbon emissions."

"I think the whole thing makes a lot of sense in terms of economy, sustainability and social aspects as well."

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