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Friday 14 Feb 2020

Passengers urged to check before they travel ahead of £5million railway upgrade in Cornwall

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

Passengers are being reminded to check before they travel as Network Rail starts work this weekend on £5million worth of upgrades in Cornwall.

In total nine separate projects will be carried out between Truro and Penzance and between St Erth and St Ives from 15 to 23 February with the upgrade providing more reliable journeys for passengers.

Between Truro and Penzance Network Rail will be improving the railway’s resilience to flooding, carrying out track renewals to improve the reliability of the railway and doing maintenance work to the platform at Camborne station.

The work will see two and a half miles of track replaced which is the equivalent of a one way trip across St Michael’s Mount Causeway, 3,900 tonnes of stone which is the same as more than 22 million Cornish pasties and 1,134 sleepers which is twice the amount you can seat at the Minack Theatre.

The upgrade means buses will replace trains between Truro and Penzance until Sunday 23 February.

Meanwhile on the St Ives branch line, the Causeway Bridge near Lelant Saltings needs to be replaced as it has reached the end of its lifespan.

The bridge replacement means buses will replace trains between St Erth and St Ives until Thursday 20 February.

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.”

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.”

For further travel advice and information on the work please visit www.GWR.com/WestCornwall