Editing Tarka Line (section)

== Proposed improvements ==
[[Network Rail]] would like to raise the Cowley Bridge during their [[Network Rail Control Periods|Control Period 7]] (2024-2029). This would reduce the likelihood of the railway being closed or damaged by floods.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Clark |first1=Rhodri |title=Prioritising rail resilience |magazine=Modern Railways |date=September 2022 |pages=72–73}}</ref>

The Barnstaple to Bideford route was mentioned in the [[Association of Train Operating Companies]]  2009 ''[[Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network]]'' report which recommended some closed lines that could be rebuilt to restore railway services to large communities.{{ATOCConnectingCommunitiesReportS10|page=16}} Following the reopening of the [[Dartmoor line]] to {{stnlnk|Okehampton}} in 2021, a local 'Atlantic Coast to Exeter' campaign resumed interest in reopening the line from Barnstaple to Bideford.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Steer |first1=Tim |title=Back the Bideford Bid |journal=Modern Railways |date=February 2022 |page=47}}</ref>