There were birthday celebrations at Okehampton Station this morning, as the third birthday of the Dartmoor Line was marked with speeches and the cutting of a cake.

The morning party took place on the platform, just after a packed two-carriage train departed for Exeter.

With standing room only, it bore witness to the railway line’s spectacular success since it was restored in November 2021.

At the party were local councillors, including mayors from other towns nearby including Launceston, which has launched its own campaign for the return of its railway. There were also members of OkeRail and the Dartmoor Railway Association, which fought to reinstate the line to Exeter the town lost in 1972., and railway company GWR, who lobbied for its return.

Mayor Cllr Allenton Fisher cut the celebration cake with his ceremonial naval sword, as a navy veteran.

He commented on how much the railway’s return had done for the self respect of the town.

“The opening of the line has changed Okehampton,” he said. “Okehampton is now the town centre of Devon. We have got a dual carriageway going all the way north and we will shortly have two railway stations so we will be the place to be,” he said.

Dr MIchael Ireland, chair of OkeRail, recalled how he spent 13 years lobbying for the railway’s return.

“Gradually the campaign took off, with the support of colleagues from the Dartmoor Railway Association and others, and the railway opened, which was excellent. So now we have the anniversary, it is a particularly good time to have our cake and celebrate. I want to say thank you particularly to the railway groups around the area, Connect Launceston and Connect Bude and Tavy Rail, working hard to bring the railway back to the entire area.

“I used to say that Okehampton was an oasis in a rail desert and I think we have now got green shoots in that rail desert with our good friends from the rail groups around the area, Launceston, Tavistock and Bude, so I think that is something for us to celebrate.”

“People used to say to me, ‘It will never happen, boy’ and I used to look at them and say ‘It will’.”

Matt Barnes, from GWR, joined OkeRail in campaigning for the railway.

He said 775,000 people had used the line since it opened and that more than 40,000 people had used the line in the last four weeks ‘which is the best we have ever had”.

Kevin Ball, treasurer of OkeRail, said: “For me, this justifies all the time leading up to getting the line put in. We said again and again when it is opened people will use it and the proof has been in the pudding because it has been incredibly successful.”

Cllr George Dexter, West Devon Borough Councillor for Okehampton North, added: “The line has been a great success, with passenger numbers exceeding all expectations. I expect that the number of people using it will increase even further when the new Okehampton Interchange station opens in 2026.

‘I believe that we need to build on this success by having more carriages on the hourly trains. We also need a more frequent service which can only happen by an upgrade of the line between Crediton and Okehampton.”