Branch lines from Exeter in early June

[dax123]

Hi all

I'm staying in east Devon in early June and looking at doing some trips on the lines out of Exeter St Davids / Exeter Central. I'm particularly interested in doing the Avocet line to Exmouth, but also interested in the lines to Paignton through Dawlish, to Barnstaple and to Okehampton.

My question is how busy are the lines out of Exeter likely to be in early June? The kids will be in school so it won't be the summer holidays, so during weekday daytimes are these lines likely to be fairly quiet? If I did the line through Dawlish to Paignton, I'd get a GWR local stopping service and not a XC or GWR long distance service.

Any information is appreciated, particularly on likely loadings on the line to Exmouth and best time of day during the week to travel to avoid busy times. Thanks

 

[davetheguard]

Welcome to the forum!

You won't find the trains "quiet"; these routes are well used all year round, but there's generally seats to be had, but see below:

Exeter Central is the main destination for most people on these local routes. More people get on/off these trains there than at St. David's.

Trains on the half-hourly Exmouth/Exeter/Dawlish/Paignton service are generally booked to be a 3 car 166 or 4 car 150. That is generally sufficient, although there will be some standing in rush hours. If only a 2 car turns up, things can be a bit cosy to say the least.

Okehampton trains are 2 car 150s which is fine outside the rush hour.

Barnstaple trains are mostly 3 car 158s with heavy flows to Exeter in the morning & back to Barnstaple in the evening peak. Going from Exeter to Barnstaple in the morning, you'll find there's stacks of room, particuarly in the back coach leaving Exeter Central.

You might find a Devon Day Ranger ticket (£15.50) ideal for travelling these lines. Valid from 09.00 for travel throughout Devon including over the border to Gunnislake in Cornwall.

 

[dax123]

Welcome to the forum!

You won't find the trains "quiet"; these routes are well used all year round, but there's generally seats to be had, but see below:

Exeter Central is the main destination for most people on these local routes. More people get on/off these trains there than at St. David's.

Trains on the half-hourly Exmouth/Exeter/Dawlish/Paignton service are generally booked to be a 3 car 166 or 4 car 150. That is generally sufficient, although there will be some standing in rush hours. If only a 2 car turns up, things can be a bit cosy to say the least.

Okehampton trains are 2 car 150s which is fine outside the rush hour.

Barnstaple trains are mostly 3 car 158s with heavy flows to Exeter in the morning & back to Barnstaple in the evening peak. Going from Exeter to Barnstaple in the morning, you'll find there's stacks of room, particuarly in the back coach leaving Exeter Central.

You might find a Devon Day Ranger ticket (£15.50) ideal for travelling these lines. Valid from 09.00 for travel throughout Devon including over the border to Gunnislake in Cornwall.

Many thanks for this information. So will Exeter to Exmouth, going out mid-morning say between 11:00 - 11:30am, and back late afternoon around 4:00 - 4:30pm still be quite busy?
I wouldn't travel in the morning before 10am or in the evening after 5pm. I'd also check on RTT before hand to try to get a 4 car 150 or 3 car 166.

Also, what's the air conditioning like on GWR's 158s & 166s? Is it reliable or susceptible to breaking down on hot summer days?

 

[Kite159]

Also, what's the air conditioning like on GWR's 158s & 166s? Is it reliable or susceptible to breaking down on hot summer days?

158s can be hit & miss, but the AC on the 166s is truly hopeless when it gets hot. If a 165 pops up the air cooling on those is a lot better as it was retrofitted in recent years

 

[dax123]

158s can be hit & miss, but the AC on the 166s is truly hopeless when it gets hot. If a 165 pops up the air cooling on those is a lot better as it was retrofitted in recent years

Thanks - I think my best bet is a 4 car 150 with open windows. And 158s with working air con if I go to Barnstaple

 

[Iskra]

On a 158, on a long summer journey it’s worth walking through the train to find the coolest carriage. On my last summer GWR 158 the air cooling was only working in one carriage but most passengers just stayed sat sweltering in the other carriages.

 

[davetheguard]

So will Exeter to Exmouth, going out mid-morning say between 11:00 - 11:30am, and back late afternoon around 4:00 - 4:30pm still be quite busy?

The trains will certainly not be empty, but you should be alright at these times I'd of thought, it really boils down to how much personal space you want to make it acceptable. I suspect, reading between the lines, you may perhaps only feel comfortable with more space than I personally need?

By 11.30, shoppers who have spent the morning in Exeter will be starting to return home, so perhaps 10.30 might be slightly quieter? And late afternoon in Summer you might get people starting to return from the beach in Exmouth, so again, perhaps an hour earlier might be slightly better? These are only guesses by the way.

I know the local rail users group for the Exmouth branch (ALRUG Avocet Line Rail Users' Group) have done some detailed counts train by train on the line; I don't know if these figures are in the public domain or if they'd be happy to advise you accordingly? You could try contacting them.

The other thing to check with regard to the Exmouth branch is football & rugby matches. Exeter City F.C.'s ground is next to "St. James Park" station, and Exeter Chiefs rugby ground is between "Digby & Sowton" & "Newcourt" stations; trains WILL be full & standing if there's a game on!

As others have said A/C can be patchy - it always pays to check out the whole train. Just because A/C is not working on one vehicle doesn't mean it's not working well on others. If on a warm day, a train comes in with the hopper windows open on one or two coaches, but closed on the other(s), I generally head for the ones with closed windows as the A/C will generally be working there.

 

[dax123]

Thanks for all the advice, it will help me to plan any trips on the branches out of Exeter in early June.

 

[Class800]

Hi all

I'm staying in east Devon in early June and looking at doing some trips on the lines out of Exeter St Davids / Exeter Central. I'm particularly interested in doing the Avocet line to Exmouth, but also interested in the lines to Paignton through Dawlish, to Barnstaple and to Okehampton.

My question is how busy are the lines out of Exeter likely to be in early June? The kids will be in school so it won't be the summer holidays, so during weekday daytimes are these lines likely to be fairly quiet? If I did the line through Dawlish to Paignton, I'd get a GWR local stopping service and not a XC or GWR long distance service.

Any information is appreciated, particularly on likely loadings on the line to Exmouth and best time of day during the week to travel to avoid busy times. Thanks

Not empty, and they are often short trains, but there's usually plenty of seats. I never notice issues with seats round there except at peak times/summer weekends. More needing to remember request stops and getting ticket from the guard where there's no machine

 

[D841 Roebuck]

A couple more things you might consider doing whilst in Devon (particularly if you get nice weather):
- have a boat trip from Exmouth to Starcross (or vice versa)
- train to Axminster, then bus to Seaton for a trip on the Seaton Tramway

 

[dax123]

A couple more things you might consider doing whilst in Devon (particularly if you get nice weather):
- have a boat trip from Exmouth to Starcross (or vice versa)
- train to Axminster, then bus to Seaton for a trip on the Seaton Tramway

Thanks, I'm only in Devon for 3 full days (we're staying in Honiton) and it's not exclusively a train holiday (we'll have the car with us), but looking to get in a few train trips. I'm considering Exeter to Newton Abbot as well to do the train through Dawlish, although I suspect this is a busy route in summer.