250px, Construction at Marsh Barton station in 2021, part of the Devon Metro project. The Devon Metro is a proposed

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

–style service on the

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

network in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and its environs, which

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

has been working to establish since 2011. The intention is to move towards a Devon Metro service through a series of improvements to the current network, including opening new stations at , , and .

Routes

The planned Devon Metro incorporates services on the Riviera Line from Exeter to and , the Avocet Line to , the

Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in ...

to , and the West of England Main Line as far as ,https://citizensrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Avocet-Line-Rail-Users-Group.pdf with some sources also including the rest of the county's rail network.

Completed enhancements

Cranbrook station

Cranbrook railway station opened in 2015.

Newcourt station

Newcourt railway station opened in 2015.

Riviera Line timetable changes

As part of the Devon Metro project, frequency on the Riviera Line between Exeter and Paignton was increased to four trains per hour, which has also had the effect of increasing the frequency of the Avocet Line to Exmouth. Also as part of the project, in the 2020 timetable change, the Tarka Line service between Barnstaple and Exeter was segregated from the service on the Avocet and Riviera Lines from Exmouth to Paignton via Exeter. It has been proposed that the Tarka Line could now be extended east from Exeter to Honiton along the West of England Main Line.

Ongoing work

Marsh Barton station

Construction work started at Marsh Barton in April 2021. The station was added to the National Rail timetable in May 2022.

Proposals

Plans to create a Devon Metro also include new stations at , , and . Furthermore, the council wishes for the

Dartmoor Railway The Dartmoor line is a railway line in Devon, England. From , the line runs alongside the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction where it diverges west to . Previously a heritage line, it is owned by Network Rail. The route w ...

to be extended to serve the town of Tavistock, which would revive a connection provided until 1968 by the

Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devo ...

References

{{Reflist Rail transport in Devon Transport in Exeter