A busy East Devon rail line between Axminster and Exeter St David’s will close for a fortnight from Saturday, November 9, so track upgrades in the Honiton area can take place.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Busses will replace trains for commuters as part of the work which will see engineers install a mile of new track through Honiton Tunnel – replacing the existing 50-year-old infrastructure.

The upgrade includes the installation of new sleepers and ballast, ensuring ‘a smoother and more reliable journey for passengers,’ says Network Rail.

The West of England Line – which runs through Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central – is due to reopen on Saturday, November 23.

Network Rail will also complete other ‘essential tasks’ which include cutting back vegetation and removing dangerous, diseased and dying trees between Honiton and Pinhoe along with general track and drainage maintenance.

Water channelling away from the Honiton Tunnel will be enhanced to reduce the likelihood of flooding.

Half-a-mile of track between Pinhoe and Feniton will be replaced.

Earthworks will see the stabilisation of the recent Cleave Embankment landslip finished.

South Western Railway (SWR) will be running the following rail replacement bus services between Axminster and Exeter St David’s:

Weekdays:

• One per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Cranbrook and Exeter Central;
• One per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central.

Weekends:

• One per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton and Exeter Central;
• One per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central.

Mark Goodall, Wessex Route director, said: “There is never a convenient time to close the railway for an extended duration so we’re sorry to any passengers disrupted by this closure and thank them in advance for their patience and understanding.

“The West of England Line is a critical route for connecting passengers from Devon to London, and vice-versa, and this forthcoming work is really important for the continued safe and reliable running of train services.

“In particular, the track through Honiton Tunnel is now life expired and in need of replacing with new and more resilient track and while that is being completed our teams will be undertaking a number of other useful pieces of key maintenance and upgrades along the line to support us in running the best possible service we can when the line reopens on Saturday, November 23.”

Peter Williams, customer and commercial director for South Western Railway, added: “Customers travelling between Axminster and Exeter should check their journeys and allow extra time to complete them, as buses are replacing trains from Saturday 9 to Friday, November 22.

“Closing important parts of the railway for two weeks is never an easy decision because we know how inconvenient it can be for customers, but the closure will allow Network Rail to deliver significant improvements on this part of the West of England line.

“We thank customers for their patience as these essential improvements are carried out, which will boost performance for years to come and help avoid day-to-day disruption on this busy part of our network.”