Looe Valley Line

‘Pirate Trail’ launched to encourage families to visit Looe by train

3rd April 2023
Staff dressed as pirate and parrot at Plymouth station for launch of Looe Pirate Trail
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

New Looe Valley Line Heritage Centre opens at Liskeard station

1st November 2021
A new Heritage Centre for the Looe Valley Line has opened at Liskeard station. The centre is in three rooms in the Liskeard & Looe Railway Building which is on Platform 3.  The building dates back to the 1901 opening of the line into Liskeard from Coombe Junction which saw Liskeard and Looe linked by rail for the first time. Read more

Rail-mad Swedish family re-creates memories of Looe Valley Line at home

18th December 2020
swedish-family-loves-looe-valley-line
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?

11th December 2019
GWR train at St Germans in Cornwall - photo by Antony Christie
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

Plymouth’s rail partnership and tech whizzes team up to win national award

10th October 2019
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership staff pose with Elixel's Gavin Jones
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

South East Cornwall rail projects scoop national awards

9th October 2019
Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership team receive 1st place award for Looe Valley Line Heritage Project
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

CreativiTea trains

8th October 2019
Poet Sally Crabtree sings with local school children on the Creativitea train
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.

Looe Valley Line heritage project

8th October 2019
Historical photo of staff at Looe station - courtesy of The National Archives
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.

New Looe Valley Line Heritage Centre to be set up at Liskeard station

18th April 2019
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

More seats on Looe trains

9th April 2019
Looe Valley Line train at Terras Bridge
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

Celebrating the heritage of the Looe Valley Line

2nd April 2019
Steam train at Looe station with polaroids of participants in Looe Valley Line heritage project
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 and signage improvements on the Looe Valley Line

9th November 2018
Welcome to the Looe Valley Line sign
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.

New heritage project on the Looe Valley Line

18th October 2018
Farewell to steam group photo on the Looe Valley Line - courtesy of Paula Arthur
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

Get our free live departures apps

18th July 2018
Devon app screenshot set against backdrop of train on Dawlish coastal route
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

New Saltash hoardings promote branch line destinations

10th July 2018
richard-burningham-and-richard-bickford-with-station-hoardings
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

Foodie Guides

26th June 2018
Launch of Avocet Line Foodie Guide
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.

Quartet of branch line videos

20th October 2017
Four students look out of the train window on the Tarka Line (screenshot from video)
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

Carbon Reduction Challenge

15th June 2017
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.

Facebook campaign to promote branch lines reaches 390,000 people

19th December 2016
The Partnership has completed a four-month Facebook advertising campaign to raise the profile of the branch lines and inspire people to take day trips by train. Concluding last week, it reached more than 390,000 people and helped to double traffic to our Great Scenic Railways website. Read more

Partnership recognised at national awards

3rd October 2016
The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership was recognised in multiple categories at the annual Community Rail Awards held in Southport on 29th September 2016, and helped Great Western Railway to win the prestigious overall award. Organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), the event saw the Partnership’s ‘Song for the Tamar Valley Line’ project win first place in the Community Art Schemes (Renewable and smaller projects) category. Read more