EXCLUSIVE VIADUCT WALK MARKS 100 YEARS OF RAIL SERVICES ACROSS CALSTOCK

Friday 29 Feb 2008

EXCLUSIVE VIADUCT WALK MARKS 100 YEARS OF RAIL SERVICES ACROSS CALSTOCK

Region & Route:: | Wales & Western: Wales & Borders; | Wales & Western

The 100-year old Calstock railway viaduct opens to walkers for the first time today as Network Rail and Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership join hands to celebrate the centenary of rail services across it. The viaduct links Bere Alston and Gunnislake along the scenic Tamar Valley line. Hundreds of individuals are expected to join the exclusive walk, which will also be graced by the great grand-daughter of J Charles Lang, one of the key engineers instrumental in the construction of the viaduct and railway. The viaduct walk will offer the public a rare vantage point to view the architecture, the railway track as well as the landscape around the viaduct, which is part of an Area of Outstanding Beauty. Standing at nearly 120 feet above high water with sixty foot-span arches, the railway links Devon and Cornwall and is the only viable public transport today that will bring passengers from Gunnislake to Bere Alston and Plymouth. The rail link has been carefully maintained and improved by Network Rail over the years, as part of its Community Rail schemes. Old tracks have made way for modern new ones for a safer and more reliable train service for passengers. Serving eight trains per day from Plymouth today, the railway took nearly four years to build and delivered its first passengers on 2 March 1908. The opening of the railway, which provided links to Plymouth and London at Bere Alston, also brought significant economic opportunities to market gardeners in the area. Chris Fuoco, Area General Manager, Network Rail, says, ‘Network Rail is very happy to be associated with this viaduct walk, which is part of an on-going collaboration with the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, First Great Western and other stakeholders to promote awareness and usage of our scenic branch lines in Devon and Cornwall.’ Richard Burningham, Manager of the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership says, ”The Tamar Valley Line is important to local people, providing a vital link between the Tamar Valley communities and Plymouth for work, shopping, education and leisure, and brings tourists and visitors out to explore the area’s beautiful countryside. The line’s iconic centrepiece is the great Calstock Viaduct and with the support from Network Rail, we are pleased to offer people their first ever official chance to walk along it. The walk has excited a lot of local interest and is a great way to round off the railway centenary celebrations.” The walk will begin from Calstock Station at 3pm to 4.30pm on 3 March 2008, Monday.

Notes to editors

1. The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership is a non-profit partnership between local authorities, the rail industry and others which works to promote the Plymouth – Gunnislake Tamar Valley Line and other rural railways in the two counties. 2. Colonel Holman F Stephens was the other engineer employed by the Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction Railway to build the viaduct and railway. Colonel Stephens is famous for having been involved in many small and light railways around the country. He ran several from his base in Tonbridge, Kent until his death in 1931. One of these lines, the Kent & East Sussex, is now preserved. The line between Bere Alston and Gunnislake is the last survivor in the national network of all the Stephens influenced passenger light railways. 3. The Tamar Valley line is part of Network Rail’s Community Railway scheme. Community Railway schemes are designed to involve local people in the development & running of local & rural routes, services and stations. Network Rail works with local authorities, heritage railways, rail-user groups and over 60 community rail groups to provide the rural and local railways that are so important to the communities they serve. Community Rail is a Government-led strategy supported by the rail industry. In most respects, community railways are no different from the rest of the railway as they remain connected to the national rail network. However, it offers the concept of a different category of local railway, separately specified, fit for purpose but with standards appropriate to its use. Importantly, it actively involves the wishes of local communities in the development of their railway.

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