Great Western Railway services for Newquay will be affected by important rail improvement works taking place next week.
Network Rail is to upgrade the track as part of the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme, as well as carry out essential maintenance.
The scheme has been funded by Government and Cornwall Council and is being delivered by Network Rail in partnership with the council and GWR.
The latest phase of works will affect trains from Monday 24 February to Sunday 23 March:
- No trains will run to/from Newquay
- Replacement buses are planned between Newquay and St Austell
- Trains will still operate at Par station towards Plymouth or Penzance
Sharon Holloway, GWR’s Station Manager for West Cornwall, said:
“This improvement work forms part of the wider plans to enhance services under the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme, and will make the track improvements necessary for us to provide more, and better, services.
“This paves the way for us to run our first Mid Cornwall Metro trains which will provide coast-to-coast connectivity between Newquay and Falmouth via Par and St Austell.
“Once the infrastructure works and operational preparations are complete, the first step will see us double frequency on the line between Newquay and Par, followed by the start of coast-to-coast services at a later date.
“During these dates trains will still run between Plymouth and Penzance at Par station with replacement buses running between Newquay and St Austell.
“It is however important that customers are aware that these alternative travel arrangements could make journey times longer, so please plan ahead.”
Bogdan Lupu, Network Rail industry programme director, said:
“This is the next major stage of our work to build Mid Cornwall Metro and transform rail travel in the county.
“We’re sorry for the disruption but the benefits will be enjoyed long into the future.”
Additional engineering work is planned later this year to complete signalling upgrades to enable more trains to use this section of the railway.
For the latest information, visit GWR.com/Upgrade.
Image credit: GWR
