East Devon Line
There was birthday cake and free commemorative linen shopping bags to mark Cranbrook station’s 10th birthday on Monday 15 December.
Cranbrook Town and East Devon District Councillor Kim Bloxham cut the cake in an event at the station joined by fellow East Devon District Councillor Kevin Blakely and Andrew Ardley, Regional Development Manager (West) for South Western Railway.The Read more
Birthday cakes were cut at both Honiton and Axminster stations on Saturday 19 July as part of celebrations to mark the 165th anniversary of the Yeovil to Exeter railway and both stations which all opened on 19 July 1860.
There will be buses linking Axminster, Seaton and Beer on Sundays and Bank Holidays starting 20 April thanks to funding from South Western Railway.Route 379 operated by Stagecoach South West will run three round trips between Axminster Trinity Square, Axminster Station, Colyton, Seaton and Beer on Sundays and Bank Holidays until 26 October.Buses Read more
We were pleased to pick up 3rd place in two categories at last week’s Community Rail Awards ceremony, held at Newcastle’s Civic Centre.
Tourism and Leisure award – 3rd place
Rail Ale Trails
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Blackmore Vale Line Community Rail Partnership teamed up for a revitalised promotion of real ale pubs along community rail lines. Read more
A pair of community rail projects in Devon and Cornwall have been shortlisted for national awards.
The 2025 Community Rail Awards will be held in Newcastle in March. The shortlists include:
Tourism and Leisure award
Rail Ale Trails
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Blackmore Vale Line Community Rail Partnership teamed up for a revitalised promotion of real ale pubs along community rail lines. Read more
A new promotion has been launched to encourage people from near and far to visit local pubs by train.
The Salisbury – Exeter Rail Ale Trail includes 19 pubs along the railway that links the two cities, all of them within easy reach of the stations in the towns and villages it serves. Read more
Passengers using or passing through Whimple station on the East Devon Line, the western part of South Western Railway’s Waterloo-Exeter route, will see a bright “Welcome to Whimple” artwork at the Exeter end of the station.The sign is the result of work by pupils at the adjacent Whimple Primary School in a project organised and led by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership with the support of South Western Railway. Read more
in a project led by the Friends of Honiton Station, attractive new artwork has been installed on the inside of the station’s footbridge and a shed on Platform 1. In addition, an illustrated town map has been placed in the station forecourt. Read more
A large new namesign and garden has been installed at Pinhoe station.The sign and garden have been installed by Network Rail Western Route for the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, working with Pinhoe Community Hub, the station adopters.Bradford’s have supplied the bark chippings for the garden free of charge and plants have been funded by Pinhoe Community Hub, thanks to a grant from South Western Railway, and the Rail Partnership. Read more
If you have an idea for a project at or relating to the East Devon Line or one of its stations, help is available, including money.
The East Devon Line is the section of South Western Railway’s Waterloo – Exeter route in Devon and includes Axminster, Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook and Pinhoe stations. Read more
To highlight the fact that both the start (Cranbrook) and finish (Barnstaple) of the Tour of Britain’s second stage were easily accessible by train, we ran a marketing campaign developed in consultation with our partners at South Western Railway and Great Western Railway. Read more
Last summer, Cranbrook station was transformed by the addition of colourful posters, designed by pupils and students from St Martin’s C of E Primary School and the Cranbrook Education Campus.
To ring the changes, a second set of winning posters has just been installed. Read more
CASE STUDY | Great Scenic Railways is the Partnership’s tourism-focused website, promoting the branch lines to more than 75,000 tourists and local day trippers each year.