By Andy Roden
Feature
Lynton link: the Rail Link bus between Lynton and Barnstaple has generated a huge increase in journeys, including to the latter’s station.
LUKE FARLEY
When the Dartmoor line reopened in November 2021, alongside Okehampton station stood a bus ready to take passengers to nearby Tavistock, which lost its service back in 1967. It was the latest illustration of a growing initiative by Great Western Railway and partners to reconnect towns and villages to the rail network and reduce car dependency.
In the South West, it is not the first time such links have been launched. For many years, a bus ran from Exeter St David’s to Holsworthy and Bude (the service now starts from Okehampton, cutting journey times into Exeter city centre), and there have been other successful bus-rail connections elsewhere.
