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 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, and rail user grou ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, 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 ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition ...

, and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

City Council. Railway industry backing came initially from Wessex Trains but it withdrew in 2006 when its franchise was transferred to

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

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

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

and South Western Railway 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 – Liskeard to Looe *

Maritime Line The Maritime Line is a railway line that runs in the valley of the River Fal from Truro, the county town, to Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall, England. History The railway line, now known as The Maritime Line, was built by the Cornwal ...

– Truro to Falmouth * St Ives Bay Line – St Erth to St Ives * Tamar Valley Line – 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 ...

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. ...

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 organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment th ...

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 in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, 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