Torbay - Transport

Transport

Torbay lacks direct motorway links and is primarily served by the A380 road from Exeter. The last stretch of road, from Newton Abbot via Kingskerswell is mostly single carriageway and is often congested in summer and during commuter hours. There have been plans to remedy the situation though alternative routes were difficult to find because the road passes by areas of outstanding natural beauty. A bypass had been planned since as early as the 1930s and has come close on a few occasions to being built: the latest plan was halted in autumn 2008, and in October 2010 it was confirmed that the bypass was not one of the 24 schemes that had been approved. However in November 2011 the government awarded £74.6 million towards the cost of the bypass, and the county council stated that it hoped that construction would start in October 2012 with completion in December 2015.

Torbay's other main road links are the A379, which follows a coastal route from Teignmouth, passes through Torquay and Paignton, then goes on to Dartmouth; and the A385 which goes inland to Totnes and the A38.

The bus franchise is largely operated by Stagecoach South West of the similarly named group, that operates a large share of the market in Torbay and the neighbouring towns of South Devon. Open top buses are operated by Stagecoach and other companies in the summer.

Torbay has three stations on the National Rail network, operated by First Great Western: Torre railway station is inland on the road from Torquay to Newton Abbot, Torquay railway station is close to Torre Abbey Sands and Paignton railway station serves that town and links with the heritage Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway to Kingswear connecting via the Dart ferry to Dartmouth.