The first of the passenger railway stations in Cornwall , England, were opened in 1834. The network expanded considerably between the 1840s and 1900s. There were 81 stations in the duchy in 1960 but rationalisation of lines and stations has reduced this to just 36 National rail stations since 1989 including two opened in the 1970s. These are on the Cornish Main Line (between Penzance and Saltash where it continues across the Royal Albert Bridge into Devon) and the five remaining branch lines. There are also a small number of new or reopened stations on heritage railways.
The busiest station is Truro with more than one million passengers each year; the quietest is Coombe Junction Halt with fewer than 250.
Early transport in Cornwall relied on coastal shipping so the first rail tracks were laid to connect the hinterland with harbours. [1] The first line to carry passengers was the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway (B&WR) on 4 July 1834. [2]
In the west the Hayle Railway connected that port with Redruth at the end of 1837 and started a passenger service on 23 May 1843. This line was not convenient to operate but was taken over by the West Cornwall Railway (WCR) and realigned in 1852, extending it west to Penzance and east to Truro. It moved its Truro terminus to join the new Cornwall Railway (CR) which opened from Plymouth on 4 May 1859. The CR completed its line from Truro to Falmouth on 24 August 1863. The WCR and CR were financially supported by the Great Western Railway (GWR). Other branch lines were opened, either by the GWR or independent companies which were later absorbed, to places such as Fowey and Newquay (1876) Looe (1879), St Ives and Helston (1887), and Bodmin (1888). The GWR network was completed in 1905 by a long line which connected Truro with Newquay via Perranporth. [2]
Meanwhile the B&WR had been bought by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) but remained isolated from its parent until their line through the north of Cornwall to Wadebridge opened in 1895. This was extended to Padstow in 1899. The LSWR also supported branches across the border from Devon to Bude (1898) and Callington (1908). The GWR also had a cross-border line to Launceston from 1865. [2] The LSWR became part of the Southern Railway in 1923 while the GWR continued with its same name, although absorbing the last of the still independent lines that it operated. [3]
The 1900s saw a number of small halts opened and, often, closed as the railways made an effort to keep local traffic away from trams and buses. The railways themselves operated bus routes, the first in the country being a GWR service from Helston railway station to The Lizard in 1903. [4]
During the 1960s many of the quieter stations and lines were closed, either as a result of Dr Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways or general commercial considerations. The whole of the LSWR network was closed (except for two stations on a truncated Callington line) as were many GWR branches, but this has allowed heritage and narrow gauge railways to open using parts of these old lines.
Estimated station usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at each station from Office of Rail and Road statistics. The methodology for calculating the number may vary between years. [5] Closure dates refer to passenger services, goods traffic may have continued to a later date.
Station | Opened | Closed | Heritage opened | Route | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benny Halt | – | – | 1974 | Lappa Valley Steam Railway | ||
Bodmin General | 1887 | 1967 | 1987 | Bodmin and Wenford Railway | [6] | |
Bodmin Parkway | 1859 | – | 1990 | Bodmin and Wenford Railway | Known as Bodmin Road until 1983. [8] | |
Boscarne Junction | 1964 | 1966 | 1996 | Bodmin and Wenford Railway | Original platform was on a different site adjacent to the Bodmin North branch line [9] | |
Canna Park | – | – | tbc | Launceston Steam Railway | [41] | |
Colesloggett Halt | – | – | 1992 | Bodmin and Wenford Railway | [23] | |
Hunts Crossing | – | – | tbc | Launceston Steam Railway | [41] | |
Launceston | – | – | 1983 | Launceston Steam Railway | Not on the site of previous Launceston station which closed in 1966 [41] | |
Newmills | – | – | 1995 | Launceston Steam Railway | [41] | |
Trevarno | – | – | 2011 | Helston Railway | ||
Truthall Halt | 1905 | 1963 | 2017 | Helston Railway | [89] [90] | |
The Bodmin and Wenford Railway is a 6 miles 12 chains (9.9 km) heritage railway at Bodmin in Cornwall, England. Its headquarters are at Bodmin General railway station and it connects with the national rail network at Bodmin Parkway.
The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in 1851 from Exeter to Crediton and in 1854 the line was completed through to Barnstaple. The line was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865 and later became part of the Southern Railway and then British Rail. In 2001, following privatisation, Wessex Trains introduced the name Tarka Line after the eponymous character in Henry Williamson's book Tarka the Otter. The line was transferred to First Great Western in 2006.
The Atlantic Coast Express (ACE) is an express passenger train in England that has operated at various times between London and seaside resorts in the South West England. It is currently operated as a summer only service by Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Newquay.
The Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was a railway line opened in 1834 in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It linked the quays at Wadebridge with the town of Bodmin and also to quarries at Wenfordbridge. Its intended traffic was minerals to the port at Wadebridge and sea sand, used to improve agricultural land, inwards. Passengers were also carried on part of the line.
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reach Plymouth more conveniently than before.
Bodmin Parkway railway station is on the Cornish Main Line that serves the nearby town of Bodmin and other parts of mid-Cornwall, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of the town of Bodmin in the civil parish of St Winnow, 274 miles 3 chains from London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay.
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in Cornwall and Devon in the United Kingdom. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing from Cornwall into Devon over the famous Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash.
The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to develop holiday traffic to Cornwall. The LSWR had opened a line connecting Exeter with Holsworthy in 1879, and by encouraging the North Cornwall Railway it planned to create railway access to previously inaccessible parts of the northern coastal area.
Wadebridge railway station was a railway station that served the town of Wadebridge in Cornwall, England. It was on the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway.
There are eight disused railway stations between Wadebridge and Bodmin North on the former Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, with ten other closed sidings on the branches to Ruthern Bridge and Wenfordbridge. The section from Boscarne Junction to Bodmin General is currently part of the Bodmin and Wenford Steam Railway; the line from Wadebridge to Wenfordbridge is now part of the Camel Trail, and the line to Ruthern Bridge can be followed for much of its length as it runs parallel to a public road.
The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, England. Whereas the GWR route from Exeter followed the coast to Newton Abbot and then went around the southern edge of Dartmoor, the LSWR route followed the northern and western margins of Dartmoor, passing through the towns of Crediton, Okehampton, and Tavistock.
The Truro and Newquay Railway was a Great Western Railway line in Cornwall, England, designed to keep the rival London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the west of the county. The line was completed in 1905 and closed in 1963.
The evolution of transport in Cornwall has been shaped by the county's strong maritime, mining and industrial traditions and much of the transport infrastructure reflects this heritage.
The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth area, but today just six stations remain in use.
Padstow railway station was the western terminus of the North Cornwall Railway. It was opened in 1899 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to serve the port of Padstow. It closed in 1967 having been proposed for closure in the Beeching Report.
Boscarne Junction railway station is a railway station on the Bodmin and Wenford Railway in Cornwall, United Kingdom, and is its current terminus of the railway. It is adjacent to the Camel Trail, a long-distance footpath and cycle trail.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall: