Take the train to St Ives again after Network Rail completes work: St Ives track renewal taking place

Monday 19 Jan 2026

Take the train to St Ives again after Network Rail completes work

Region & Route:
Wales & Western: Western
| Wales & Western

You can take the train to St Ives in Cornwall once again this morning after Network Rail completed engineering work.

Two weeks of work has taken place on the branch line from St Erth to help keep journeys safe and reliable.

Network Rail’s team has worked round the clock to install 2,140 yards of new rail, sleepers and ballast (track stone), replacing equipment that had reached the end of its working life.

With the track upgraded and a new footbridge with lifts now fully open at St Erth station, the branch line to St Ives is set to welcome even more passengers. Over 750,000 use it every year, enjoying the trip alongside the River Hayle and around Carbis Bay.

Stuart Stevens, Network Rail project manager, said: “This stretch of railway is vital for the local community and the thousands of visitors who come to the St Ives area every year.

“A reliable train services makes travelling much easier, takes thousands of cars off the local roads and provides a boost to the local economy.”

Lee Goodson, GWR station manager for West Cornwall, said: “Continuing to invest in the railway, we are pleased this work has been completed on time and on budget, ensuring the continued use of this vital rail link for years to come.”

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Emily Maiden
Network Rail
Emily.Maiden@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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