The St. Ives branch line is set to benefit passengers as part of a number of improvements to the mainline in Cornwall, with an extra 2,000 seats per day.

Network Rail and its contractor BAM Nuttall have been hard at work over the past nine days to extend the station platforms at Lelant and St. Erth as part of a £1.14m project for this extremely popular branch line.

The upgrades will mean that Great Western Railway (GWR) can operate longer five-carriage trains which can stop at all of the stations on the St. Ives branch line.

Being able to run trains with an extra carriage provides a 25% increase in capacity and means an extra 2,000 seats and a total of 10,000 seats to and from St. Ives during peak season.

The extra capacity will also go a long way to support both business and tourism in and around St. Ives as the well-loved railway line transports huge numbers of passengers to and from the stunning harbour town, especially through the busy summer period when thousands of tourists descend on this part of Cornwall.

Lelant station has seen its platform extended by 13 metres whilst St. Erth station has seen a 6-metre extension. Both of the platforms are anticipated to be commissioned and approved to welcome the first five-carriage trains later in 2022 with GWR set to operate the longer trains after the May 2022 timetable change during peak season.

The improvements are just part of Network Rail’s ongoing investment into the railway in West Cornwall, particularly the St. Ives branch line which saw a £3m track upgrade during February 2021 and was Network Rail’s biggest track investment for the St. Ives branch line in 60 years.

Network Rail’s team of engineers have also renewed 1.8km of new track, sleepers and ballast between Truro and Penzance, this work will support both the reliability and lifespan of the vital mainline into Cornwall. The work also saw the life-expired Bodriggy bridge in Hayle replaced.

Dan Parkes, Network Rail Programme Manager – Capital Delivery Building & Civils, said:

“We are delighted to have completed our upgrade work in West Cornwall.

“On the St Ives branch line, the longer platforms will have a really positive impact in supporting business and tourism in and around St Ives by enabling GWR to run an additional carriage during the busy summer months. These platform extensions open up the opportunity to increase capacity by 25% and provide up to 10,000 daily seats to and from St Ives and are the latest demonstration of our ongoing investment into this highly popular branch line.

“The mainline improvements mean the reliability and lifespan of this stretch of railway has been increased, helping support regular and reliable train services to and from Cornwall.

“We appreciate the disruption caused when we have to temporarily shut the railway to make these upgrades but we hope passengers, local residents and visitors alike will enjoy the benefits of these improvements over the coming months.”

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

“We have been working hard to make sure that people can be confident to travel safely, and that includes running as many trains and carriages as we can to make extra room.

“Last year the St Ives branch line saw its busiest ever period and this work will enable us to provide additional summer services, providing much needed extra capacity.”

Derek Thomas MP for St Ives, West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said:

“Improving capacity on the branch line to St Ives is a core part of our work to reduce the pressure on traffic in the town centre so this is a great step in the right direction.

“In St Ives, we are ambitious to achieve a low-carbon transport network and have appreciated the way that Network Rail and GWR have engaged with us as we work towards this shared goal.”

Richard Burningham, Manager of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, said:

“Thanks to everyone at Network Rail for delivering this latest investment in West Cornwall’s railway. We are particularly delighted with the work to allow five coach trains at peak times on the St Ives branch line.

“The line has gone from strength to strength in recent years, despite the pandemic, and the extra seats this work makes possible will be very well appreciated.”

Philip Sheen, BAM Nuttall Contracts Manager, said:

“St Erth and Lelant stations provide crucial public transport connections for the Cornish community and these platform extensions will provide train operators with the option to run longer trains going forward, particularly during the busy summer season.

“Works were carried out within challenging timescales and I would like to thank all the team for their hard work and the local community for their patience whilst we delivered these improvements.”