TRACK laying has been completed on the Dartmoor Line ahead of its planned reopening as part of the passenger rail network this December after a gap of almost 50 years.
The 14-mile route runs from Coleford Junction (on the Exeter-Barnstaple line) to Okehampton. Work began in March following the confirmation of a £40 million investment from the Government’s Restoring Your Railway Fund.
Over 11 miles of new track has been laid along with 24,000 concrete sleepers, using a new track construction machine which can drop sleepers into position evenly and simultaneously, before laying and clamping track to them. By mid-May, nearly all of the 29,000 tonnes of ballast required for the trackbed was in situ and ready for tamping.
Four miles of lights, operated using quiet generators to minimise disturbance to local residents, have been in place to allow engineers to work through the night.