Great Western Railway has announced that the planned works to improve parts of the railway in West Cornwall have begun.

There will be a temporary timetable in use, as well as rail replacement bus services.

Network Rail will be undertaking viaduct waterproofing and track work in Redruth and Hayle between Saturday 15 and Sunday 23 February 2020, and on the St Ives Bay Line between Saturday 15 and Thursday 20 February 2020.

Amended train services will operate from Truro towards Plymouth with one train per hour in each direction, and buses will replace trains from Penzance to Truro for the nine days. They will also run between St Erth and St Ives until Thursday 20 February.

After that, services will still run on the Falmouth branch line but up to 15 minutes later than usual.

The long-distance services from London Paddington to Devon and Cornwall will operate but terminate at Truro.

Replacement buses will be in service to connect with trains, adding up to 50 minutes to journey times. Some train departure times will also be changed.

Further improvements elsewhere in Cornwall are also due to take place this March with buses replacing trains on the following dates:

• Sunday 1 March – Truro to Penzance (including St Erth to St Ives)
• Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 March – Liskeard to Looe
• Sunday 8 March – Liskeard to Truro (including the Newquay branch)
• Weekends of 14/15 and 21/22 March – Par to Newquay (buses run from St Austell instead of Par)

For more information about the ongoing works, and how it will affect your journey, you can visit GWR’s website here.

What did the officials say?

Mark Chorley, GWR Regional Station Manager, West, said:

“Since the introduction of our brand-new timetable in December, we have been running more trains with greater capacity and improved reliability across the South West.

“Brand-new Intercity Express Trains, specifically designed for Devon and Cornwall, plus the electrification of the track in the Newbury area, have helped bring 24% more seats than before with journeys to London up to 14 minutes quicker.

“This work is important to ensure we continue to improve the reliability of the service and we thank customers for their patience in advance.”

Scott Pillinger, Network Rail’s programme manager, said:

“We thank passengers in advance while we carry out these vital upgrades across Cornwall and remind them to check before they travel.

“The improvements will help provide passengers with more reliable journeys and represents further investment in the railway in Cornwall following recent signalling upgrades in the South West.”

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