c. clix) was given royal assent in 1863 and the line opened on 9 October 1882, branching from the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway's station at Heathfield, to Christow.

Meanwhile, the Great Western Railway placed camp coaches in some of the stations providing holiday accommodation.

The line saw a resurgence of traffic during the restrictions and petrol rationing after the Second World War however passenger trains were withdrawn in June 1958.

A short section of the line in Exeter, known as the Alphington Spur, remains a siding for weekly scrap metal freight trains.

The Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, ordered a review of alternative inland rail routes[3] but no decision to reopen any line was forthcoming.