21/05/2026
For decades Britain’s railways were planned around decline rather than growth.
From the 1960s through to the cash-strapped years of British Rail in the 1980s and 1990s, station land was often viewed as surplus rather than strategic. Goods yards were sold, access roads built over, parking reduced and commercial development encouraged simply to bring in much-needed revenue. At the time, few imagined the railway would once again become central to tackling congestion, supporting economic growth and connecting communities.
Today we are living with the consequences of those decisions.
Across the South West many of our historic town-centre stations are now heavily constrained by poor access, traffic congestion and limited space for expansion. The railway itself may have survived — and passenger numbers grown dramatically — but the ability to easily reach stations has not kept pace.
Barnstaple is a clear example. The former goods yard land around the station has long since been redeveloped. Large-scale retail and commercial traffic movements now dominate the surrounding roads, with HGV deliveries and increasing congestion making access to the station more difficult year on year. The railway sits in the middle of a busy urban environment that was never strategically planned around future rail growth.
Taunton faces similar challenges. Extensive housing growth and urban expansion have added significant pressure to roads around the station. At peak times, congestion can make reaching the station difficult, while limited parking often disappears early in the day. Yet outside the peaks, trains can still have plentiful space available. The problem is not always rail capacity alone — it is the cumulative impact of decades of poor strategic planning around access to the railway.
We regularly hear about overcrowded trains on routes across the region, and these stories understandably put some people off travelling by rail. But the wider issue is how easily people can actually access the network in the first place.
Okehampton offers an interesting contrast. Since returning to the national rail network, the station has attracted significant numbers of people out of their cars and onto trains. However, the station’s hillside location limits easy access from the wider catchment area. Recognising this, plans emerged for a new parkway-style station close to the A30, with substantial parking and bus connections — directly aligned with the Government’s ambitions for “Better Connected Communities”. While recent concerns about proposed reductions to bus infrastructure are worrying, the principle remains sound: modern rail growth requires stations that are easy to access by car, bus, walking and cycling.
So how do we apply this thinking to places like Barnstaple and Taunton?
The answer is not simply bigger car parks or more roads. It is integrated transport planning:
🚆 Better bus links timed to trains
🚶 Safe walking and cycling routes
🅿️ Strategic park-and-ride and parkway access
🚌 Proper interchange facilities
📱 Real-time information and integrated ticketing
🏙️ Development planned around rail access, not against it
For too long transport planning has treated stations as isolated destinations rather than the centrepiece of connected communities.
If we are serious about growing rail use across Devon and Somerset, then we must start planning stations not just for the railway we inherited — but for the railway our region actually needs.
We want to hear from you.
🚆 If you already use the railway — what are the biggest challenges in accessing stations like Barnstaple, Exeter, Crediton, Okehampton or Taunton?
🚗 If you currently drive instead of using the train — what would encourage you to switch? Easier parking? Better bus links? Simpler ticketing? More reliable trains?
🏪 If you are a local business — how does congestion around our town-centre stations affect staff, customers and deliveries? Could better rail connectivity help your business grow?
Too often transport planning is done to communities rather than with them. The future of rail in Devon and Somerset needs to reflect how people actually travel today — for work, education, healthcare, shopping and leisure.
The North Devon Line is not simply a railway line. It is part of the wider transport network that supports our towns, businesses and communities.
Please share your thoughts in the comments, message the North Devon Line Rail Promotion Group directly or email: [email protected]
North Devon Gazette Crediton, Devon Station Masters Cafe Barnstaple The Museum of Barnstaple & North Devon
