Fresh backing for push to reopen Newton Abbot to Heathfield rail line as road closure looms

The campaign to reopen a disused rail line between Newton Abbot and Heathfield has secured fresh backing after its local group was formally welcomed as an affiliated campaign by national body Railfuture.

Devon and Cornwall regional branch chair Tim Steer visited Newton Abbot station last weekend to meet members of the Heathfield Rail Link Association (HRLA), see the surviving line towards Heathfield, and discuss next steps in the campaign to get it reopened.

The short branch, originally part of the Teign Valley and Moretonhampstead line, still survives as far as Heathfield, with platforms remaining at Newton Abbot, Teigngrace and Heathfield. HRLA was formed to campaign for reopening the four miles of track, which runs near Bovey Tracey on the east side of Dartmoor.

HRLA chair Michael Cooke said the group's aim was "to highlight the re-opening of the line as a planned green commuter service from Newton Abbot to Heathfield to enable the local infrastructure to have a green sustainable future with daily services to help ease transport pressures within the local and outlying areas and to return the existing four miles of railway to full operational use for local commuters, tourism and leisure."

Newton Abbot's position as a railway junction gives access to the Plymouth to Exeter main line and onward to Torquay and Paignton. The group wants to link the branch into these onward services to improve connectivity, and says there have been ongoing discussions and meetings with rail companies over the years, alongside its community engagement work.

Describing his visit, Mr Steer said: "The HRLA welcomed me at Newton Abbot station and showed where the existing platform and track for Heathfield are located, in a disused part of the station and in a dormant state." He was then taken on a walk along the Stover Canal, which he said showed the route was "very much intact," with even the section washed out in Storm Bert partially rebuilt.

Mr Steer said the inclusion of a rail link to Heathfield in the new Local Transport Plan 2025-2040 put HRLA "in a position to start work on a Business Case, just as we have seen for rail extensions to Tavistock and Bideford." Campaigners hope the move will build momentum behind the scheme. Mr Steer added that central government support for sustainable transport corridors meant a Heathfield rail link, alongside a parallel cycle and walking path, "would fit that vision," and floated the prospect of a new station being sited along the track as a new "Heathfield parkway."

Heathfield sits just off the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth and is a large and growing industrial area, also providing access to Dartmoor and communities including Chudleigh and Bovey Tracey. HRLA says the case for reopening the line is becoming increasingly relevant as the local area grows in housing and population, and as local roads come under greater pressure from traffic.

The line has faced setbacks, including a washout in November 2024 south of the level crossing on the Newton Abbot to Kingsteignton Exeter Road. The group also points to disruption ahead locally: the main road between Heathfield and Newton Abbot is due to close for over two years for major works. HRLA describes the road as a vital artery into Newton Abbot, and says the closure will only add to congestion as the area continues to develop.

Mr Cooke said HRLA will continue to highlight the importance of the line, and is gaining support from local MPs while continuing discussions with Network Rail. As a community led group, he said members remain keen to become more directly involved in restoring the line and its infrastructure.

Discussions are also under way over a possible Community Licence Order to gain managed access to Teigngrace Halt, a small country platform closed since 1959 that once stabled the Royal Train on several occasions. It sits directly next to the Stover Canal and Stover Trail cycling and walking route, and the 18 mile Templer Way. The group hopes to restore it as a community garden, citing its historical significance, including a historic right secured by the original landowner, the Duke of Somerset, to stop any train at Teigngrace whenever he wished to travel.

Recent planning applications have also been submitted for housing development at the Heathfield end of the line, including provision for parking and a proposed new platform that would serve local residents and businesses opposite the main industrial site.

Mr Cooke said the more the group discusses the line's future and the transport issues facing the surrounding area, the more relevant reopening the line becomes, with HRLA continuing to work towards Newton Abbot to Heathfield becoming an integral part of Devon Metro.