The railway trust says it may soon outgrow the site

The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust is hoping to extend the existing line by 9m (14.4km), built through the park in 1898.

One mile of the line, which closed in 1935, was recently reopened by the trust for historic trips.

Funding bids will be put forward to the European Regional Development Fund, Heritage Funding.

Keith Vingoe, chairman of the railway's trustees, said the railway could soon outgrow their current site if visitor numbers continued to grow.

A projected 50,000 visitors were expected by the end of the year.

I think in the end people will view it as the Exmoor Eden Keith Vingoe, chairman of the railway's trustees

The trust also plans to build a park and ride facility to encourage people to leave their cars outside the national park and use the railway for travel to Lynton.

It believes the project could return �70m within five years.

Keith Vingoe, chairman of the railway's trustees, said: "There has been proof in the past that the investment in capital project pays dividends. You only have to look at Cornwall's success with the Eden Project.

"We feel that if there was a major tourist attraction in this area, particularly in the national park, it would encourage people to come to this part of the world, to visit and actually partake in many things, just in the same way they did with the Eden Project.