Avocet Line

The Avocet Line is the railway line in England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary for most of its route, giving views of the estuary. The line is named after the Pied Avocet, which live in the estuary.

Route
The towns and cities served are:
 * Exeter
 * Digby
 * Sowton
 * Topsham
 * Exton
 * Lympstone
 * Exmouth

The route follows the West of England Main Line in the suburbs of Exeter before diverging to the south.

There is a ferry service from Exmouth harbour to Starcross railway station on the opposite shore of the River Exe.

Services
For many years the passenger services on the line have been provided by Wessex Trains, and since 2006 by First Great Western, using Class 150 or Class 153 diesel multiple units (DMUs) either singly or in multiple. However, from December 2007 First Great Western introduced Class 142 'Pacers' and more recently, Class 143 'Pacers' to release other DMUs for refurbishment. Since December 2011, the Class 142 units have returned to Northern Rail.

The section in Exeter is shared with South West Trains West of England services to London Waterloo as far as Exmouth Junction (between St James Park and Polsloe Bridge). The daytime frequency is a train every 30 mins, although trains only stop once an hour at Polsloe Bridge, St James Park, Exton and Lympstone Commando. The latter two stations are request stops.

Passenger volume
The busiest station on the branch is Exmouth, which is the fifth busiest in Devon. The numbers of passengers using the line each year have shown an increase in particular Digby & Sowton and St James Park. Comparing all stations on the year beginning April 2002 to the Year beginning April 2010 there are a variety of trends. The biggest increases have been at Digby & Sowton by 157% and St James Park with 105%. The increases in descending order from there are Topsham by 89%, Polsloe Bridge by 82%, Exton by 60%, Lympstone Village by 31% and the smallest with Exmouth by 6%. Meanwhile, Lympstone Commando has declined by 33%.