16-year-old Tom Watts won the ‘Design the Dartmoor Line logo’ by Great Western Railway and promoted by Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Network Rail.
The competition which was launched in April this year to mark the opening of the Dartmoor Line.
His winning design of the roundel will take pride of place on a special train livery, station signs, posters and timetables.
Tom’s winning design was his take on the Ten Tors Challenge. He was hoping to complete the challenge of walking miles as part of a team over Dartmoor whilst he was at Okehampton Community College, but due to Covid, the event has not taken place since 2019. Tom is hoping to take part next year with fellow students from Exeter Maths School.
The Dartmoor line will begin services on the 20th November and will see a year-round service between Exeter and Okehampton.
This will be the first line to reopen under Government’s Restoring Your Railway programme, which is investigating ways to reopen lines across the country and bring them back into service.
The reopening of the line, which last provided a regular service to passengers in 1972, will be welcomed by local businesses, the tourism sector as well as providing better access to those who live locally to get to work and education, including Tom who lives in Okehampton and will use the line to get to school and back home.
It will take around 40 minutes to travel from Exeter St Davids and Okehampton. Return tickets currently cost £8 and can be bought from Great Western Railway Website or other national ticket sites.
GWR Head of Strategic Service Development, Matt Barnes, said “We wanted a logo that symbolises Dartmoor and Tom’s design does that perfectly. The Dartmoor tors are iconic and visible for miles around – if you’ve enjoyed the breath-taking beauty of Dartmoor you will have encountered one of these granite masses.”
“We’re excited to be returning year-round passenger services along this route for the first time in 49 years and Tom’s roundel design will become a permanent fixture on the Dartmoor Line.”
Network Rail Senior Sponsor, Kevin Miller, said “We are delighted to see the Dartmoor Line roundel design unveiled. It is particularly fitting that the winning logo has been designed by local Okehampton teenager, Tom Watts, and signifies how important the reopening of this line is to the local community.”
“We are now in the final stages of our work to upgrade the railway ready for the return of regular passenger services and look forward to celebrating the arrival of the first regular service in nearly 50 years next Saturday, alongside our partners and the local community.”
Tom said “I was surprised yet delighted to have won this competition. I think it is incredible that my logo design will be associated with the Dartmoor Line for many years to come!”
“The silhouette of the walker in my logo represents me next year, doing Ten Tors with Exeter Maths School. It also represents the freedom given by the moors, welcome both during and after the restrictions of the pandemic.”
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Responses
Well done to Tom Watts for his great design.
Well done Great Western Railway and Network Rail for reopening the Dartmoor Line.
Good to see The Dartmoor Line now reopened to Okehampton, Will the former Portishead Line could be reused and reopened and to use the Class 165 and Class 166 to operate on the newly reopened line from Bristol Temple Meads to Portishead. With a new station at Portishead to be built and new stations including Pill to be built and reopened.