Mid Cornwall Metro

[pb_devon]

I think you are being unnecessarily negative about the scheme. If Falmouth, Truro, St Austell and (especially) Newquay residents get an improved rail service, surely that’s to be lauded?

[DavidLong]

To be clear, I have no problem if improved frequencies mean that this improves the access to the railway for an area's population. what I dispute is the implication that the project will improve communication in the corridor between Newquay and Truro/Falmouth; it doesn't. It seems to imagine that a journey of, I estimate, around 35 miles via St Blazey/Par is a viable alternative to the road route of around 15 miles. Even the closed Newquay and Chacewater wandered around the coast via Perranporth/St Agnes in order to reach Truro.

The fact is that none of the rail routes in Cornwall, including the main line, are what one could describe as quick. Again, the A3058 road route between Newquay and Snozzle is 16 miles and, unlike the rail route, doesn't wander off around Roche, Bugle and Luxulyan before finally approaching St Austell from the east. The routes taken by the railways in the 19th century may have had perfectly good reasons in terms of industry and topography for taking the the routes that they did but in an age where the railway is passenger oriented they have have not left an ideal inheritance.

End-to-end times could be improved by running semi-fast services but that would be at the expense of denying some intermediate stations the advantage of improved frequencies which is one of the claimed benefits of the scheme.

 

David