MEMBERS of Heath Rail Link (HRL) action group gathered at Newton Abbot Train Station for a day’s hard graft on Saturday, April 23, as they began their first clear-up operation of 2022.

Platform nine although intact is rarely used and there are extensive tidying up works required for platform 10: removal of weeds, scrubs and small trees for example.

The repair of the platforms and track bed would be necessary if the line were to be re-opened between Newton Abbot and Heathfield, which is the group’s ultimate goal.

Heath Rail Link
Cllr Mike Joyce, Alan Forsyth, Neil Bromley and Michael Cooke (Ethan Heppell / MDA)

HRL Chairman Michael Cooke said: ‘It’s our first day of the year to start clearing and cleaning up the platforms. We’re going to get some more dates, hopefully this year, it all has to be authorised by Great Western Railway (GWR) and Network Rail (NR)’.

Michael, alongside fellow HRL members Neil Bromley and Alan Forsyth, set about clearing the area of vegetation, pulling up weeds and sprucing up the platform with flowers bought by the group all the while a banner, designed by Neil who is a calligrapher by trade, served to get the word out about HRL.

With close to 2,000 followers on their Facebook page, HRL are pursuing plans to acquire charitable status for the organisation and take the next step towards their ultimate goal: re-opening the line to Heathfield and safe to say the train is closer to leaving the station.

Michael said: ‘We’ve had a meeting with NR, a very important meeting, to find out exactly what they want to do. We put a business plan forward to them, they had a look at it and visited the line with our local MP, Anne Marie Morris, Devon County Council (DCC), GWR and senior programme commercial manager at Network Rail, Julian Williams.

‘Everyone is very interested, we’ve had lots of meetings, meetings with town councillors about it all.’

Newton Abbot Train Station - Three Wheeled
(Ethan Heppell / MDA)

HRL member Neil Bromley said: ‘There is a great opportunity to open up the branch line and get involved.

‘It’s not for us, it’s for the local community, it will help to get more cars off the road also – we all know how busy Newton Abbot can get at times.

‘It’s a great opportunity for everyone in Newton Abbot so I really hope more people get involved.

‘We’ve got NR talking to GWR, GWR have been talking with DCC and DCC have been talking with our local MP – we’ve got them all talking and things are moving.

‘I’m really keen to get the whole railway looking like a preserved railway line should.’

Saturday’s clear up was a first for HRL member Alan Forsyth, who was encouraged by the prevailing feelings at the last meeting he attended.

Alan said: ‘You join a society like this and you think, well, it’s a bit of a pie in the sky, is anything really going to happen?

‘But, for me what was really exciting was when Micheal invited me along to one of the recent meetings with NR and GWR and others and everyone there was really enthusiastic.’

‘All together it was really positive and from that I really thought is that this is a live project – it is actually something that is going to happen.

‘It’s great to feel we are doing something here and it’s great to get the message out.’

Heathfield Station 1957
Heathfield station in August of 1957 (R E Toop)

HRL is a public interest group which formed in 2017 to facilitate the re-opening of the existing railway the group is aiming to clear the area of vegetation, clean up and repair the platforms and, ultimately, raise funding to secure the line and run a regular commuter service.

Originally opened in 1874, the line closed to passenger traffic in 1959 however it remained in use for a variety of other services, the transportation of timber for example.

Cllr Mike Joyce, who attended the tidy up said of the group: ‘It is great this group has the enthusiasm to work towards opening up the Heathfield line, if their enthusiasm rubs off on other people I think they’re going to make a great impression.

‘If it comes off it will be a huge benefit to the town, Heathfield and the surrounding areas.’