Updated at: 13-Nov-2025 13:30:13: PM
Operator: Great Western Railway
Routes affected:
Trains between Paignton / Exmouth / Exeter Central / Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple
Twitter Hashtag: Barnstaple
Description of Incident
Flooding between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple means the line is closed. As a result, trains will be cancelled or revised.
Disruption is expected until the end of the day on Sunday 16 November.
Customer advice:
Limited rail replacement transport is in place. Taxis and coaches will shuttle between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple until further notice. They will call at Crediton, Copplestone, Morchard Road, Eggesford and Umberleigh in both directions. Please see station staff for more information.
For any passengers at any intermediate stations, please use the help point and road transport will be arranged.
You may use your ticket, at no extra cost, on Stagecoach South West on the following routes:
- Route 5 between Exeter Central, Newton St Cyres and Crediton
- Route 5A between Exeter (bus station), Newton St Cyres (Belluno), Crediton, and Copplestone
- Route 5B between Exeter bus station and Barnstaple. (please note the journey time is approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes)
- Route 5C between Exeter (bus station), Newton St Cyres, Crediton, Copplestone, Morchard Road, and Lapford
Additional information:
Network Rail’s remote monitoring equipment detected water exceeding the threshold for closure at three bridges and viaducts, triggering an automatic closure of the Barnstaple branch line for the safety of all customers.
Network Rail will need to deploy specialist diving teams to inspect the affected structures once water levels recede before services can safely resume.
Great Western Railway will restore the service as soon as it is safe to do so but with heavy rain expected on Friday the closure is likely to continue until Sunday at least.
Check before you travel:
You can check your journey for today using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner. For journeys tomorrow and beyond please check back later.
For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.
You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.
Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.
Compensation:
You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.
For the very latest National Rail information click here.
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This page created on: 12-Nov-2025 16:00:37: PM