Train operator under fire for promoting a route that has no station

First Great Western has come under fire for an advertising campaign that promotes a destination it does not operate to.

The Explore campaign features Dartmouth in Devon but the nearest network station is Paignton, six miles away, which can only be reached by heritage steam trains on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway.

These trains run to Kingswear, on the opposite side of the River Dart, where passengers have to take a ferry across to Dartmouth.

The misleading advertising strapline on posters and adverts says: 'The train makes it easy to get to Dartmouth. But I always find it difficult to leave.'

Another catchline reads: 'Explore Dartmouth by train'. Dartmouth is home to the Britannia Royal Naval College.

The nearest mainline station to Dartmouth, with direct trains from London and other areas of the UK, is 12 miles away at Totnes, with connections to Dartmouth by bus or river boat.

Consumer group Passenger Focus said the advert could have "perplexed" passengers.

Chief executive Anthony Smith told the Mail: "We welcome created ideas for promoting the use of the rail network. However, passengers may be somewhat perplexed at being encouraged to buy train tickets for travel to a destination which has no train station."

All of the other destinations in the campaign such as Cardiff in Wales and St Ives in Cornwall are reachable from parts of the country by either main line or branch line services.

A First Great Western spokesman said it had changed the advert on its website to show where the nearest station to Dartmouth is.