Blog

Anniversary of improved Torbay train service

The first anniversary of improved train services between Newton Abbot and Torbay, made possible by the Citizens’ Rail project, was marked by the cutting of a special birthday cake at Paignton station today.

Since the improved service began, there have been 20% more trains between Paignton, Torquay, Torre and Newton Abbot on weekdays, meaning that there are at least two trains an hour each way throughout most of the day.

The service improvements are part of the Citizens’ Rail project, 50% funded by the EU Interreg IVB programme and whose local partners are Torbay Council, Devon County Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Leading the project is the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Manager Richard Burningham said “The first anniversary of the improved train services is a key landmark in our project which aims to significantly boost Torbay and South Devon’s railway.”

The project, which began two years ago, is working to develop the Riviera Line, between Paignton, Newton Abbot and Exeter, in a variety of different ways, including train service improvements, station improvements, particularly at Torre and Exeter St Thomas stations, a big marketing campaign and work to greatly increase community involvement.

The cake-cutting was filmed by the BBC’s regional TV news programme, Spotlight. Interviewees included First Great Western’s Ian Mundy (immediately below), and Richard Burningham of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (two photos down).

As part of the celebration, Ian Mundy and Torbay Council’s David Whiteway took the opportunity to share the anniversary cake with passengers. Our thanks to the local culinary wizards at Simply Sue-Perb Cakes for providing such a realistic and delicious cake.

More information about the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, can be obtained from Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

Information about Riviera Line train times and fares can be found on the award-winning Riviera Line website, created as part of Citizens’ Rail.

2014/12/09
Anniversary of improved Torbay train service

The first anniversary of improved train services between Newton Abbot and Torbay, made possible by the Citizens’ Rail project, was marked by the cutting of a special birthday cake at Paignton station today.

Since the improved service began, there have been 20% more trains between Paignton, Torquay, Torre and Newton Abbot on weekdays, meaning that there are at least two trains an hour each way throughout most of the day.

The service improvements are part of the Citizens’ Rail project, 50% funded by the EU Interreg IVB programme and whose local partners are Torbay Council, Devon County Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Leading the project is the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Manager Richard Burningham said “The first anniversary of the improved train services is a key landmark in our project which aims to significantly boost Torbay and South Devon’s railway.”

The project, which began two years ago, is working to develop the Riviera Line, between Paignton, Newton Abbot and Exeter, in a variety of different ways, including train service improvements, station improvements, particularly at Torre and Exeter St Thomas stations, a big marketing campaign and work to greatly increase community involvement.

The cake-cutting was filmed by the BBC’s regional TV news programme, Spotlight. Interviewees included First Great Western’s Ian Mundy (immediately below), and Richard Burningham of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (two photos down).

As part of the celebration, Ian Mundy and Torbay Council’s David Whiteway took the opportunity to share the anniversary cake with passengers. Our thanks to the local culinary wizards at Simply Sue-Perb Cakes for providing such a realistic and delicious cake.

More information about the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, can be obtained from Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

Information about Riviera Line train times and fares can be found on the award-winning Riviera Line website, created as part of Citizens’ Rail.

2014/12/09
Anniversary of improved Torbay train service

The first anniversary of improved train services between Newton Abbot and Torbay, made possible by the Citizens’ Rail project, was marked by the cutting of a special birthday cake at Paignton station today.

Since the improved service began, there have been 20% more trains between Paignton, Torquay, Torre and Newton Abbot on weekdays, meaning that there are at least two trains an hour each way throughout most of the day.

The service improvements are part of the Citizens’ Rail project, 50% funded by the EU Interreg IVB programme and whose local partners are Torbay Council, Devon County Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Leading the project is the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Manager Richard Burningham said “The first anniversary of the improved train services is a key landmark in our project which aims to significantly boost Torbay and South Devon’s railway.”

The project, which began two years ago, is working to develop the Riviera Line, between Paignton, Newton Abbot and Exeter, in a variety of different ways, including train service improvements, station improvements, particularly at Torre and Exeter St Thomas stations, a big marketing campaign and work to greatly increase community involvement.

The cake-cutting was filmed by the BBC’s regional TV news programme, Spotlight. Interviewees included First Great Western’s Ian Mundy (immediately below), and Richard Burningham of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (two photos down).

As part of the celebration, Ian Mundy and Torbay Council’s David Whiteway took the opportunity to share the anniversary cake with passengers. Our thanks to the local culinary wizards at Simply Sue-Perb Cakes for providing such a realistic and delicious cake.

More information about the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, can be obtained from Riviera Line Project Officer Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

Information about Riviera Line train times and fares can be found on the award-winning Riviera Line website, created as part of Citizens’ Rail.

2014/12/09
Beach Train: The Movie

See our hugely popular Beach Train project in action:

The additional services on the La Roche Bressuire line in Pays de la Loire have helped to revitalise a previously little-used railway. By giving people the chance to visit the coast for a very reasonable price, the Beach Train has captured the imagination of many in the region, and helped to change their perception of rail travel. Read more about the project.

2014/12/08
Beach Train: The Movie

See our hugely popular Beach Train project in action:

The additional services on the La Roche Bressuire line in Pays de la Loire have helped to revitalise a previously little-used railway. By giving people the chance to visit the coast for a very reasonable price, the Beach Train has captured the imagination of many in the region, and helped to change their perception of rail travel. Read more about the project.

2014/12/08
Beach Train: The Movie

See our hugely popular Beach Train project in action:

The additional services on the La Roche Bressuire line in Pays de la Loire have helped to revitalise a previously little-used railway. By giving people the chance to visit the coast for a very reasonable price, the Beach Train has captured the imagination of many in the region, and helped to change their perception of rail travel. Read more about the project.

2014/12/08
Partner meeting in Aachen

Our latest partner meeting took place in Aachen (Germany) last week, and included several interesting site visits.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
We began with a trip to Alsdorf Annapark station to see its innovative level crossing and roundabout. Located in a former coal mining district, the project has won an architectural award.

We then took the train to the newly created St.Joris station nearby:

Next up we travelled by coach to visit a Euregiobahn construction site deep in the woods. The site poses challenges, as the new track has to pass through a nature reserve and go under another railway line:

We spent the afternoon at Stolberg station, the headquarters of EVS, the private local rail infrastructure company for the Euregiobahn network. As well as receiving an informative presentation and behind-the-scenes tour from EVS, we held sessions to update partners on the latest progress in the Citizens’ Rail project, including the successful visit of Lancashire school children to Aachen and Parkstad Limburg, and a workshop to continue the development of our Practitioner Toolkit.

The following day we visited Eilendorf station, where Citizens’ Rail partners are planning major improvements working alongside the local community:

2014/12/08
Partner meeting in Aachen

Our latest partner meeting took place in Aachen (Germany) last week, and included several interesting site visits.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
We began with a trip to Alsdorf Annapark station to see its innovative level crossing and roundabout. Located in a former coal mining district, the project has won an architectural award.

We then took the train to the newly created St.Joris station nearby:

Next up we travelled by coach to visit a Euregiobahn construction site deep in the woods. The site poses challenges, as the new track has to pass through a nature reserve and go under another railway line:

We spent the afternoon at Stolberg station, the headquarters of EVS, the private local rail infrastructure company for the Euregiobahn network. As well as receiving an informative presentation and behind-the-scenes tour from EVS, we held sessions to update partners on the latest progress in the Citizens’ Rail project, including the successful visit of Lancashire school children to Aachen and Parkstad Limburg, and a workshop to continue the development of our Practitioner Toolkit.

The following day we visited Eilendorf station, where Citizens’ Rail partners are planning major improvements working alongside the local community:

2014/12/08
Partner meeting in Aachen

Our latest partner meeting took place in Aachen (Germany) last week, and included several interesting site visits.

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
We began with a trip to Alsdorf Annapark station to see its innovative level crossing and roundabout. Located in a former coal mining district, the project has won an architectural award.

We then took the train to the newly created St.Joris station nearby:

Next up we travelled by coach to visit a Euregiobahn construction site deep in the woods. The site poses challenges, as the new track has to pass through a nature reserve and go under another railway line:

We spent the afternoon at Stolberg station, the headquarters of EVS, the private local rail infrastructure company for the Euregiobahn network. As well as receiving an informative presentation and behind-the-scenes tour from EVS, we held sessions to update partners on the latest progress in the Citizens’ Rail project, including the successful visit of Lancashire school children to Aachen and Parkstad Limburg, and a workshop to continue the development of our Practitioner Toolkit.

The following day we visited Eilendorf station, where Citizens’ Rail partners are planning major improvements working alongside the local community:

2014/12/08
Walks booklet launched

As part of the Citizens’ Rail project, a new booklet has been developed to encourage more people to enjoy walks from stations on The Riviera Line (Exeter to Paignton).

[divider type=”default” vspace=”20px” hspace=”0%” /]
The free booklet has been produced by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and brings together a selection of six self-guided walks. Included are walks from Starcross, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish and Teignmouth stations. It is part of the promotional campaign being run for the line by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership as part of the EU Interreg IVB Citizens’ Rail project. See a PDF copy of the leaflet (3MB):

Celia Minoughan, the Partnership’s Riviera Line Project Officer said:

“The booklet is a great companion for people who like exploring South Devon. There are some fabulous walks to explore along the Riviera Line, and this is just a taster of what is out there.”

At Dawlish station this week Celia was joined by walkers from the Dawlish Walk This Way group at the start of their weekly Wednesday walk. Nigel Rhys, a walk leader from Walk This Way, said:

“We welcome the Walks from the Riviera Line booklet. Every week we lead up to 40 people on walks from Dawlish Station, including the Dawlish Town Trail featured in the booklet. A few of our group regularly come from Starcross by train to join us at Dawlish Station.”

30,000 copies of the “Walks from the Riviera Line” booklet have been printed and can be found at stations throughout the First Great Western network as well as local tourist information centres. Copies can also be obtained by emailing railpart@plymouth.ac.uk.

Local partners in “Citizens’ Rail” – which is 50% funded by the EU’s Interreg IVB programme – include Devon County Council, Torbay Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. For more information about ‘Walks from the Riviera Line’ and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, contact Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777 or at celia@citizensrail.org.

[button size=”large” color=”#ffffff” background=”#d42053″ radius=”0px” type=”flat” link=”http://therivieraline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Walks-from-Riviera-Line_2_web.pdf” newwindow=”false” icon=”” ]Read the leaflet as a PDF (3MB)[/button]

2014/12/05