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The Dartmoor Railway is a long railway line in Devon, England. From Crediton the line parallels the Tarka Line to the site of the former Coleford Junction. Heading west it then serves Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. The route is owned from Coleford to Meldon by Aggregate Industries whilst the Coleford to Crediton section is owned by Network Rail. In the past freight trains served the ballast quarry at Meldon. The line is leased to and maintained by the Dartmoor Railway CIC,〔 who operate some services and facilitate access to the line by other operators. A public service between Exeter and Okehampton is run on summer Sundays operated by Great Western Railway. Ballast and stone trains were formerly operated by one of the national freight operating companies. In 2011 the quarry was mothballed leading to the suspension of ballast and stone trains. The line is also used occasionally by other operators for training purposes. The railway is also visited from time to time by main line charter services. These can be easily facilitated via the connection to the national network at Crediton. The route was originally part of the London and South Western Railway West of England Main Line from Exeter to Plymouth, which opened between 1865 and 1879. In 1968, British Rail closed the line beyond Meldon as part of the Beeching cuts. The Exeter to Okehampton passenger service was withdrawn by British Rail in 1972. Between 1972 and 1997 the line was used for railway ballast traffic from Meldon Quarry and occasional freight traffic to the remaining goods yard at Okehampton before its closure. Occasional charter and special trains were operated to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry during the passenger closure period. The railway reopened to regular passenger services in 1997 with the formation of Dartmoor Railway. A summer Sunday passenger service was introduced from Exeter to Okehampton as part of the Dartmoor Rover network. British American Railway Services Ltd, a company created by Iowa Pacific Holdings of Chicago, became the new owner of the Dartmoor Railway CIC on 4 September 2008. The company announced its intention to develop freight, passenger and tourist services on the railway.〔''Heritage Railway,'' Pub. Heritage Railway Magazine. Issue 116, 2 October 2008 - 29 October 2008. P. 18.〕 Volunteer support for the railway is provided by the Dartmoor Railway Supporters Association (DRSA). They currently operate heritage services on the line via their related company - Granite Line Ltd. Volunteers assist the railway operation in many of its activities.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Volunteers ) Dartmoor Railway Supporters Association website Volunteers page〕 The Dartmoor Railway currently runs at a total of in length making the line the eighth longest preserved Standard Gauge railway in Great Britain. A proposal was made in 2009 to restore and reopen the disused down platform at Yeoford and extend Dartmoor Railway services to terminate there. At the time it was not possible to agree arrangements with Network Rail who own Yeoford Station and the section of line from near the site of the former Coleford Junction towards Yeoford and Crediton.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=News ) Dartmoor Railway website Newspage〕 If this proposal were eventually achieved it could allow the extension of Dartmoor Railway passenger services and provide the possibility of interchange with Exeter - Barnstaple "Tarka line" trains. ==Passenger Volume== Passenger usage statistics relate only to the limited Summer Sunday only National Rail services operated by Great Western Railway. They do not include the Heritage or Polar Express trains operated on the railway. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dartmoor Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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