Atlantic Coast Line

Increasing use of the Par-Newquay line

St Blazey on the Atlantic Coast Line. Photo: Mark Lynam

The Par-Newquay branch line links the south and north of Cornwall, providing a valuable public transport link. The line brings thousands of holidaymakers and daytrippers into Newquay, helps reduce congestion and parking problems, as well as serving communities along the line.

By promoting the line to visitors, students and local residents and working with the Friends of the Atlantic Coast Line (if you’re interested in joining this friendly volunteer group, please contact us), Cornwall Council and Great Western Railway (GWR) to secure train service improvements, we have helped to increase its usage by more than 120% since 2001:

2020 & 2021 omitted due to Covid | View as table (PDF) | View data sources | View Devon and Cornwall summary table

Our work
The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership develops the line by:

Running the line forum

The Atlantic Coast Line Forum brings together the rail operator GWR, the Friends of the Atlantic Coast Line, Newquay Tourist Information, Roche Parish Council, Cornwall Council and other partners. This enables ongoing dialogue, leading to new projects and enhanced understanding and cooperation.

Supporting volunteers

We support the Friends of the Atlantic Coast Line, a volunteer group set up in 2005. Successful collaborations have included installing level access at Bugle station. Interested in finding out more about this friendly volunteer group? Please contact us.

Promoting the line to visitors

We promote the Atlantic Coast Line through our printed visitor guides, a dedicated section on our Great Scenic Railways website, on social media and in local and regional newspapers. We promote walks from local stations, including with our Luxulyan Valley leaflet of walks produced with Cornish Mining World Heritage. We also coordinate a Rail Ale Trail which brings valuable custom to pubs along the line.

Encouraging greater use by local residents

We promote the line to locals in a range of ways, including through station-specific marketing such as our ‘Take the train from Bugle’ leaflet. We target students through promotions such as the 10% discount we negotiated with Newquay’s Ticket to Ride Surf School, offering savings on hire of surf equipment and tuition to anyone arriving by train.