Wessex Trains Class 153 advertising liveries - Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall

The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership is the largest

Community Rail Community rail in United Kingdom, Britain is the support of railway lines and stations by local organisations, usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, an ...

Partnership in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was formed in 1991 to promote the use of, and improvements to, rural railways in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and also to promote the places served in order to improve the local economy. The Partnership is based at the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

and is backed by Devon County Council,

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...

, and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

City Council. Railway industry backing came initially from

Wessex Trains Wessex Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wessex Trains franchise from October 2001 until March 2006, when the franchise was merged with the Great Western and Thames Trains ...

but it withdrew in 2006 when its franchise was transferred to

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, which had joined the Partnership the previous year. Today the Partnership is backed by

CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...

and

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

as well as the local councils.

Routes

There are nine branch lines promoted by the Partnership, each supported by local councils with local forums made up of representatives from the local community. * Atlantic Coast Line – Par to Newquay *

Looe Valley Line The Looe Valley Line is an community railway from Liskeard railway station, Liskeard to Looe railway station, Looe in Cornwall, England, that follows the valley of the River Looe, East Looe River for much of its course. It is operated by Great ...

– Liskeard to Looe *

Maritime Line The Maritime Line is a branch line railway in Cornwall that runs from the city of Truro to Falmouth. Since 2009, the line has run half-hourly trains in both directions between Truro railway station and Falmouth Docks railway station via the v ...

– Truro to Falmouth *

St Ives Bay Line The St Ives Bay Line is a railway line from to in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was opened in 1877, the last new broad gauge passenger railway to be constructed in the country. Gauge conversion, Converted to standard gauge in 1892, ...

– St Erth to St Ives *

Tamar Valley Line The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Plymouth, Devon, to Gunnislake, Cornwall, in England, also known as the Gunnislake branch line. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route. Like all railway lines in Devon and Cornwall, ...

– Plymouth to Gunnislake *

Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in 18 ...

– Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple *

Avocet Line The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary f ...

Exeter Central to Exmouth *

Riviera Line The Riviera Line is the railway between the city of Exeter, towns Dawlish and Teignmouth, and the ''English Riviera'' resorts of Torbay in Devon, England. Its tracks are shared with the Exeter to Plymouth Line along the South Devon sea wall. I ...

Exeter Central to Paignton * East Devon Line – Exeter St Davids to Axminster In addition, several railway stations have "Friends" groups supported by the Partnership and which undertake local promotion of services and take on work such as gardening and litter collection.

Investment

The Partnership has secured additional investment to improve services] on the branch lines over the years. The additional services thus funded have included: * Sunday services on the Tamar Valley Line and the Maritime Line throughout the year, whereas previously they had run just in the peak summer * Summer Sunday services on the Atlantic Coast and Looe Valley lines * Extra trains on the Atlantic Coast and Tarka lines. * Additional weekday trains on the Atlantic Coast Line in 2004 - Newquay’s best train service for many years. * Station improvements on the Atlantic Coast, Looe Valley, Tamar Valley, and Tarka lines, and also a summertime ticket office at Looe station. All in all, the investment and promotion has seen passenger numbers on all of the branch lines (excluding the East Devon Line) double since 2001.

Promotion

A variety of promotional methods are employed, ranging from station or line timetables and scenic line guides, through to more specialised promotions.

Walking

The Partnership has produced two free booklets which detail walks from stations on the branch lines, in both counties. Walks are either circular or linear and are also downloadable from the Partnership's website.

Rail Ale Trails

Starting with the Tarka Line in 2002, a rail ale trail has been established along each of the six lines in association with Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA. By collecting stamps from the participating pubs in a special leaflet, drinkers can claim tour t-shirts in return for a completed sheet of stamps and production of their train tickets.

Birdwatching

There are many opportunities for spotting wild birds on both the Looe Valley Line and St Ives Bay Line. The Partnership has worked with the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

to produce leaflets and a video highlighting this. Foodie Guides The Partnership has produced 'foodie guides' for the Looe Valley Line, Maritime, Tarka and Avocet Lines. The guides detail cafes, restaurants, local markets and food events that people can get to by train. Businesses were chosen based on their use of local produce and championing of local suppliers.

Ticketing

A key part of the promotion of all the lines is the range of tickets available. Building on the success of established railway tickets such as Off-Peak Returns and Rover tickets, and the Devon and Cornwall Railcard (which offers discounts to local residents), further savings have been offered through Group Save tickets and Carnets (books of 10 tickets sold at a discount).

Trains

A number of Wessex Trains DMUs were given special liveries to promote the lines in the Partnership. They worked not just in Devon and Cornwall but further afield too and so could be seen at places such as

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Cardiff Central, and

Bristol Temple Meads railway station Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

s. Most continued to work for Great Western Railway but from 2007 they were all either repainted into that company's livery or taken off lease and transferred to other operators. * single-car units carried a black and gold livery to promote the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, or (from 2005) a blue livery and coloured pictures promoting the named line: ** 153302 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership ** 153308 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership ** 153329 ''St Ives Bay Line'' ** 153369 ''The Looe Valley Explorer'' ** 153374 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership ** 153377 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership ** 153380 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership ** 153382 Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership * two-car units carried a maroon livery with coloured pictures promoting the relevant line: ** 150233 ''Lady Margaret of Looe Valley'' ** 150240 ''The Tamar Kingfisher'' ** 150241 ''The Tarka Belle'' ** 150253 ''The Exmouth Avocet'' ** 150261 ''The Riviera Flyer'' ** 150265 ''The Maritime Line'' File:Wessex Trains Class 153 DMU 153377 2006-01-05.jpg, 153377 in Devon & Cornwall livery File:FGW-153329-01.jpg, 153329 ''St Ives Bay Line'' File:Wessex Trains 150241 at Bristol Temple Meads 01.jpg, 150241''The Tarka Belle''

References

* Department for Transport (2007), ''Introduction to Community Rail'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (1999), ''Great Scenic Railways of Devon & Cornwall'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2002), ''Looe Valley Line Trails from the Track'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2005), ''Working in Partnership in Devon and Cornwall'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2005), ''Explore the Beauty of the Tamar Valley and The Looe Valley by Rail'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2005), ''Tarka, Riviera & Avocet Line Guide'' * Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2007), ''Spotting Wild Birds by Train''

External links

Devon & Cornwall Rail PartnershipDevon and Cornwall Rail Ale TrailsGreat Scenic Railways in Devon and Cornwall
Rail transport in Cornwall Rail transport in Devon Community railway lines in England