Marsh Barton station opens

Seven years after it should have welcomed passengers, Marsh Barton’s long-awaited new £16 million train station has been formally opened by the transport secretary.

Regular services will call at the station, which serves the city’s largest trading estate, from Tuesday. A new cycle and pedestrian bridge is part of the project.

Trains were initially due to call at Marsh Barton from December 2016, but setbacks, including spiralling costs and protracted discussions with the rail industry, led to considerable delays.

Transport secretary Mark Harper says it will provide an “economic boost, not just to this community in Exeter but the wider south west region,” calling the station a “really big investment in the region.”

The government has provided nearly £3.5 million from its New Stations Fund, while the rest has come from Devon County Council, Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Exeter and Teignbridge councils, Network Rail and GWR.

The county council’s cabinet member for transport, Councillor Andrea Davis (Conservative) said she was “absolutely delighted” the project is completed, adding it will make a “really big difference” to Marsh Barton and the whole of Exeter.

“Why would you drive to Marsh Barton when you have a choice?” she said. “The congestion is horrendous at any time of the day as far as I can tell, so we’re hoping that people use this as their preferred way to get to Marsh Barton, to the county council offices and to the hospital.”

The new station will hope to replicate the popularity of Okehampton station and the Dartmoor Line, which have both enjoyed great success since fully reopening in November 2021.

More than 250,000 journeys were recorded on the line in its first year, more than double the demand originally forecast. Cllr Davis called it a “phenomenal success which we’re hoping to build on.”

She added: “We’ve got more than 100 per cent pre-covid levels on our railway [in Devon]. We don’t get that anywhere else in the country, so we know that Devon residents want to get on trains.”

Exeter councillor Josie Parkhouse (Labour), member for climate and ecological crisis, recently welcomed the project, saying “Everyone is aware of the need to use cars less often in order to lower emissions and reduce traffic pollution, and for that to happen people need access to reliable and efficient public transport.”

Meanwhile, Teignbridge’s executive member for planning, Councillor Gary Taylor (Lib Dem), said: “This is an important step in improving access to South West Exeter for those who travel on the Riviera Line service.”

The station will be served by hourly Great Western Railway services between Paignton and Exmouth, with half-hourly services at peak times.

The first service calling at Marsh Barton will be Tuesday’s 0534 Exeter St David’s to Paignton.

By Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter.