Devon MP hails extra buses for areas hit by disrupted rail services

A Devon MP has hailed extra buses that could help commuters who have been left frustrated by an emergency timetable on the Exeter-Waterloo train line.

Residents in places such as Cranbrook have been complaining that their commutes into Exeter have been hampered by the temporary reduction in services travelling from the capital.
But David Reed (Conservative), the member for Exmouth and Exeter East, says South Western Railway, the entity that runs the trains, has now put on buses to help make it easier for commuters.
In the morning, a new 100-seat double-decker bus will leave Axminster at 08:36am, travelling via Honiton and arriving at Exeter Central at 09:40am and Exeter St David’s five minutes later.
This is in addition to the 07:42 bus from Feniton that travels via Whimple and Pinhoe.
Then, in the afternoon, extra buses have been timed to match Exeter College’s 16:30 finish, which should relieve the busy 17:25 train from St David’s.
Mr Reed said these buses should now appear in the SWR online journey planner, and that Stagecoach tickets for service 4 would be accepted at peak times.
Plus standby vehicles will be ready at Exeter St David’s and Axminster during disruption.
“Constituents are rightly frustrated by the temporary reduction in West of England Line services, and the delays have caused significant disruption for students and commuters,” Mr Reed said.
“The speed restrictions were introduced after the exceptionally dry weather caused movement in clay embankments, making it unsafe for trains to run at normal speeds.
“I receive regular updates from South Western Railway and I am listening carefully to feedback from local people, particularly in Cranbrook. While temporary mitigations are in place, they are no substitute for a reliable, frequent rail service.
The immediate focus is the safe restoration of the full hourly Exeter service when conditions allow.”
Mr Reed added that this experience should “prompt a wider debate about the resilience of the route”, including the case for dualling a section at Whimple on the Exeter to London Waterloo line.
“The Waterloo line is one of only two rail routes into the South West and must be strengthened to serve local communities and the wider region,” he added.
Pressure has been put on various successive governments to fund a dualling of a part of the Exeter to London Waterloo line to help increase the frequency of the service and to make the route more reliable.
Mr Reed said some timetable tweaks were due to be made from Sunday 21 September, and that while these “won’t fully replace the hourly service, they should help spread demand and give more travel options”.
“I’ll keep pressing for a full service restoration as soon as possible,” he said.