Transport Minister Grant Schaps will send the first passenger train to run on the Dartmore line in more than 50 years.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that improving transport links is “essential” for efficiency, ahead of the resumption of regular train services on the Devon line.
Mr Johnson said the government was giving people “the opportunity to choose a train across the road” when the Dartmore line opens to the public on November 20.
Where will Dartmoor Line operate?
The Great Western Railway trains run on the line between Oakhampton and Exeter every two hours, seven days a week.
Regular services were abolished in 1972, and since 1997 the line has only been open during the summer.
Returning a year-round schedule will help students traveling to Baxter Colleges facilitate travel to Dartmore National Park, reduce road congestion and strengthen local economies, according to the Department of Transportation (DfT).
These will be the first railway services to operate as part of the government’s plans to undo the downsizing of the railway network following a report published by British Railways chairman Dr Richard Beaching in 1963.
He recommended the closure of more than 6,000 miles of train and 2,300 stops due to low demand and high costs.
The Dartmoor line has won a £ 40.5 million investment through DfT’s Restoring Your Railway program.
Mr Johnson said: “Improving transport links is vital to rising and spreading opportunities across the country, which is why we are promoting our promise to undo the cuts of beaching in Devon today.
“As we reopen the Dartmoor line, we are rightly reconnecting communities, giving passengers the opportunity to pick up a train across the road and travel from Exeter to Oakhampton on greener, cleaner transport routes.”
The government has been blamed for the failure of its commitment to “raise the bar” in the north of England due to the announcement on Thursday that part of the eastern part of HS2 between Birmingham and Leeds will be canceled.
The Dartmoor Line project included the installation of 11 miles of new rail, the installation of 24,000 concrete sleepers and the laying of 29,000 tons of load.
Repairs were made to 21 buildings along the route, including four bridges.
Additional infrastructure work included level crossing improvements, installation of new communications equipment and clearing of vegetation.
The plan was completed just nine months after the approval of the funding and more than £ 10 million under budget, according to the DfT.
Transport Minister Grant Schaps was traveling in a train taxi on the route to Oakhampton on Wednesday, before sending another service featuring local school students, activists and train staff who supported the project.
He said: “By rehabilitating the Dartmore Line we are eliminating 50 years of damage, reconnecting a community and creating new opportunities for employment, tourism, education and recreation.
“We have done our mission to make the cuts made in the beaching era of the 1960s. The passion, nostalgia and enthusiasm for this aspiration is clear all over the country.
“People love their railroads, and rightly miss them when they are not. Today – ahead of time, and under budget – we have taken a decisive step in this correction, cutting the film on a line and creating a real change in people’s lives.”
Michelle Andforth, CEO of Wales and West of Network Rail, said: “I am so proud of our engineers that their hard work and dedication has led to this line being reopened ahead of time and today enabling the Secretary of State, his supporters and Dartmore supporters. Turn to enjoy a first passenger trip. “
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