Looe Valley Line
We’re pleased to have three of our projects shortlisted for the 2026 Community Rail Awards.
Tamar Valley Blossom Festival
Community Engagement category
The Tamar Valley Blossom Festival saw National Trust Cotehele and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership work together to engage communities around the Tamar Valley Line with the train and natural environment through guided walks, creative workshops, new artwork at Plymouth station and more. Read more
We were pleased to pick up 3rd place in two categories at last week’s Community Rail Awards ceremony, held at Newcastle’s Civic Centre.
Tourism and Leisure award – 3rd place
Rail Ale Trails
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Blackmore Vale Line Community Rail Partnership teamed up for a revitalised promotion of real ale pubs along community rail lines. Read more
A pair of community rail projects in Devon and Cornwall have been shortlisted for national awards.
The 2025 Community Rail Awards will be held in Newcastle in March. The shortlists include:
Tourism and Leisure award
Rail Ale Trails
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and Blackmore Vale Line Community Rail Partnership teamed up for a revitalised promotion of real ale pubs along community rail lines. Read more
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership and GWR staff got ‘decked out’ as pirates at Plymouth station this week to launch a themed treasure hunt to inspire families to visit Looe by train.
Looe Pirate Trail starts today (Monday 3rd April 2023) and invites swashbuckling youngsters to “find the crew lost in Looe”. Read more
A Swedish family who love the Looe Valley Line in Cornwall have come up with a unique Covid-safe way of remembering the area from their home in Sweden.
Dad Knut Hauge contacted Gill Bridges from the Polraen Country House Hotel in Sandplace requesting a copy of the hotel’s breakfast menu so he could surprise his wife Hanne and two sons, Simen and Ola, with a traditional English breakfast at home. Read more
The GWR timetable change – what does it mean for you?
This Sunday (15 Dec 2019) sees the biggest timetable change on the Great Western Railway network since 1976. Journey times will change, with more frequent trains and more seats.
Find out what it means for you with our quick summary below. Read more
A high tech heritage project born in Plymouth has picked up a national award.
The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, based at the University of Plymouth, teamed up with city digital agency Elixel to encourage more visitors to explore the branch line in South East Cornwall between Liskeard and Looe. Read more
A trio of Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership projects in South East Cornwall have been recognised at the national Community Rail Awards.
The Looe Valley Line Heritage Project which celebrates the history of the Liskeard to Looe branch line won two awards. Read more
CASE STUDY | Find out about our inter-generational tea parties on the train to explore memories of the railway and bring people together. The project won the "Best Community Engagement" category at the national Community Rail Awards.
CASE STUDY | We worked with the local community to tell the hidden stories of the past 160 years on the Looe Valley Line. We produced video documentaries, a mobile phone app, interpretation boards and more to bring history to life.
Funding from Great Western Railway’s Customer & Communities Improvement Fund will see a new Looe Valley Line Heritage Centre created at Liskeard station, following a successful bid by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.
The centre will be established in three rooms on Platform 3 at Liskeard station, currently used by the Partnership as a summer information point and shop. Read more
There are more seats on the scenic Looe Valley Line which links Liskeard and Looe. All trains will now be formed of two coaches throughout the year, instead of a single coach outside of the peak Summer holidays.
The two coach trains have all been recently refurbished by train company GWR and have free Wi-Fi, power sockets, space for wheelchairs and buggies and a toilet which has been adapted for use by the disabled. Read more
We’re excited to be holding a premiere evening on Friday 26th April to show off the fantastic songs and films created as part of the Looe Valley Line heritage project. It’s a free event, but booking is required on our Eventbrite page:
Book tickets
The project has been funded by Great Western Railway’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund and the Designated Community Rail Development Fund, a joint initiative of the Department for Transport and ACoRP, the Association of Community Rail Partnerships. Read more
CCTV cameras have been installed at Looe Railway Station as part of a project which has also seen improvements to signs and posterboards there and at Sandplace and Liskeard stations.
We are pleased to have secured funding for an exciting project to explore and bring to life the rich and varied heritage of the Looe Valley Line.
Over the next six months we will be working with the community to tell the story of the Looe Valley Line and its effect on local people and the landscape. Read more
GWR has funded a pair of DCRP live departure apps to allow passengers to check their train on their phone before they arrive at the station.
The apps (one for Devon stations, one for Cornwall stations) are closely based on a similar app from TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. Read more
Promotional hoardings highlighting Cornwall’s branch line destinations have gone up around Saltash station building as the latest step towards the building’s eagerly awaited revamp.
The 33-metre boards promote beauty spots including Calstock, Looe and St Ives as well as the redevelopment of the station building. Read more
CASE STUDY | We have launched Foodie Guides for four branch lines to highlight food businesses along each route that champion local produce and sustainability, and to inspire rail travel to the area.
In response to the growing importance of video marketing, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership has produced a series of short films to showcase the South West’s scenic branch lines.
The videos – all under 90 seconds long – have been promoted through targeted Facebook advertising, reaching hundreds of thousands of people and garnering an extremely positive response. Read more
CASE STUDY | The Carbon Reduction Challenge was an inter-schools competition to encourage local schools to swap car journeys for train journeys to reduce their carbon footprint.