Restoring the Dartmoor Railway Line

United Kingdom

Filter projects by:

Market

  • Cities

    Cities EMIA

  • Commercial & Residential

    Mixed Use

    Office

    Residential

    Retail

  • Education

    Colleges & Universities

    Schools

  • Energy

    Carbon capture, utilization and storage

    Geothermal

    Grid modernization

    Hydroelectricity

    Hydrogen

    Microgrids and energy storage

    Offshore wind

    Portfolio Decarbonization and Climate Resilience

    Solar

    Transportation decarbonization

  • Healthcare

    Clinical Hospital

    Life Sciences

    Senior Living

  • Industrial

    Agriculture, Food & Beverage

    Automotive & Heavy Equipment & Machinery

    Digital Infrastructure

    High Performance Logistics

    Manufacturing

    Mining & Metals

    Pharmaceutical/Specialty Chemicals

    Pulp & Paper

  • Justice

  • Leisure

    Arts and Culture

    Hotels and Resorts

    Themed Entertainment and Mixed-Use

  • National Governments

    Civil Works

    Disaster Resilience

    Environment

    Infrastructure & Facilities

    International Development

  • Oil, Gas & Chemicals

    Chemical/Petrochemical

    Downstream

    Midstream

    Upstream

  • Sports and Venues

    Collegiate

    Convention Centers

    Olympics & Mega-Events

    Stadiums & Arenas

  • Transportation

    Air Cargo

    Aviation

    Bridges

    Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

    Freight Rail

    Highways & Roads

    Light Rail

    Mass Transit

    Ports & Marine

    Transportation decarbonization

    Tunnels

  • Water

    Dams & Hydropower

    Flood and coastal resilience

    Industrial Water

    Tunnels, Conveyance, Collection & Distribution

    Wastewater Treatment & Reuse

    Water Treatment

    Watershed and Ecosystem Management

Service

  • Alternative Delivery Models

  • Architecture and Design

    Architecture

    Asset Advisory

    Climate Adaptation

    Community Engagement

    Interior Architecture

    Landscape Architecture

    Planning

    Urban Analytics

    Urban Design

    Urbanism + Planning

  • Asset Management

  • Cities Solutions

  • Construction Management

  • Converged Resilience

  • Cost Management

  • Digital Infrastructure Services

  • Economics

  • Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Solutions

  • Engineering

    Ground Engineering

  • Environmental Services

    Air Quality Consulting and Engineering

    Climate Adaptation

    EHS Management Consulting and Compliance

    Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Permitting

    Environmental Contracting

    Management Information Systems (MIS)

    Remediation, Restoration and Redevelopment

  • Finance

  • Industrial and Commercial Operations and Maintenance

  • IT and Cybersecurity

  • Mobilitics

  • Multinational Investment and Development

  • Pedestrian Modelling (North America)

  • Planning and Consulting

    Geospatial Services

    Pedestrian Modelling

  • Process Development & Implementation

  • Program Management

  • Public-Private Partnerships

  • Risk Management & Resilience

    Critical Infrastructure Protection

  • Simulation Models

    Rail Simulations

  • Strategic consulting

    People + Place Advisory

  • Tunnels, Trenchless Technology and Underground Infrastructure

  • Vertical Transportation Services (North America)

  • Visualization and Virtual Reality

Location

  • Africa

  • Algeria

  • Antarctica

  • Australia

  • Azerbaijan

  • Bahrain

  • Bangladesh

  • Belgium

  • Bolivia

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Brazil

  • British West Indies

  • Canada

  • Caribbean-Puerto Rico

  • China

  • Colombia

  • Croatia

  • Czech Republic

  • Egypt

  • Eritrea

  • Finland

  • France

  • Germany

  • Greece

  • Greenland

  • Haiti

  • Hong Kong

  • India

  • Indonesia

  • Iraq

  • Ireland

  • Italy

  • Japan

  • Kenya

  • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  • Kuwait

  • Liberia

  • Lithuania

  • Malaysia

  • Maldives

  • Mali

  • Malta

  • Mauritania

  • Mexico

  • Monaco

  • Mongolia

  • Montenegro

  • Myanmar

  • Netherlands

  • New Zealand | Aotearoa

  • Norway

  • Oman

  • Panama

  • Papua New Guinea

  • Peru

  • Philippines

  • Poland

  • Portugal

  • Qatar

  • Romania

  • Singapore

  • Slovakia

  • South Africa

  • South Korea

  • Spain

  • Sri Lanka

  • Sweden

  • Switzerland

  • Taiwan

  • Turkey

  • Ukraine

  • United Arab Emirates

  • United Kingdom

  • United States

  • Vietnam

  • Worldwide

For the first time in nearly 50 years, in November 2021 regular passenger services started on the Dartmoor Railway Line, connecting Okehampton to Exeter. This project was the first railway reopening under the UK government’s ‘Restoring Your Railway’ programme aimed at bringing old railway lines and stations back into service. The scheme was developed as a result of a campaign led by local supporters and stakeholders.

In order to restore and revive the 20-mile railway line AECOM delivered a range of services, deploying its multidisciplinary team to support Network Rail in the construction and local authorities in the planning process. As a result, an 11-mile stretch of line was transformed in just nine months and completed under budget.

Collaboration and teamwork

Starting in February 2021, the project was implemented using the Network Rail PACE approach and moved quickly through from feasibility to detailed design, enabling implementation of the works in April 2021 – a move from concept to construction in just 8 weeks.

In order to restore the line, our team of experts collaborated closely with the client and stakeholders, producing the design that allowed the laying of 11 miles of new track, 29,000 tonnes of ballast and of 24,000 concrete sleepers in just 20 days.

Connecting communities

The reintroduction of the service benefits more than 10,000 residents in and around Okehampton, as well as bringing local towns and villages much closer to the rail network and providing a new option for people commuting to Exeter. This route provides visitors an opportunity to explore Dartmoor and offers regional links for local commuters. Local businesses and the tourism sector will also benefit from this route while those who live in the area will have greater access to education and employment opportunities.

Multidisciplinary rail engineering

Our works to deliver the new line included topographical surveys, track condition and gauge clearance assessment, including recommending a series of safety improvements protecting trains and passengers.

We made underline structure assessments and carried out bridge strengthening design, to enable repairs to 21 structures along the route – including four bridges – to be carried out. Other infrastructure work included level crossing improvements and the installation of railway communications equipment. Initial vegetation clearance, fencing installation and earth and drainage works were also carried out.

Mike Gallop, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve reopened this much needed railway line for passenger services in just 9 months and ahead of schedule. Our team has worked incredibly hard alongside our project partners Great Western Railway, Devon County Council, Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and the local community to ensure this railway is ready to open”.