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Holidays at home help to give rural rail lines recession boost
Rural rail travel is enjoying a resurgence, with services surpassing even the "golden age" of the 1950s, figures have revealed.
All six branch lines in Devon and Cornwall feature in a top ten list of the fastest-growing routes in the country.
The Atlantic Coast Line from Par to Newquay heads the table ^ compiled by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC» ) ^ with a 58 per cent increase in passenger journeys compared to last year.
With the majority of the most popular lines serving seaside resorts, the surge is thought to be a result of recession-hit Britons taking holidays at home.
Richard Burningham, manager of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, said the figures showed things were "better than the days of steam".
"There is an idea that in the 1950s all these lines had great services and that things have gone downhill ever since, but our six branch lines have now got their best ever train services," he said. "Only four years ago we were facing cuts so to have such a big turnaround is really good.
"There have never been more than eight trains a day from Bere Alston into Gunnislake but now there are nine."
Many of the now-thriving routes were earmarked for closure by the infamous Beeching cuts, which laid waste to much of Britain's rural rail infrastructure during the 1960s. But they were later reprieved
The picturesque St Ives Bay line from St Erth into St Ives rose 15.5 per cent since 2009 and carried 500,000 passengers for the first time.
The busy Newquay line carried almost 72,000 people last year, making it the fastest growing branch line in England.
On the Truro to Falmouth line, which had the third-highest growth, traffic rose 37.8 per cent after an extra platform was built to allow more trains.
First Great Western, which operates the six Westcountry routes, reported an average rise of 19 per cent in passenger journeys.
Julian Crow, regional manager, said: "All the signs are this summer is going to be even busier than last year, when we saw significant increases.
"In St Ives, which has narrow streets, the growth means more visitors than ever are arriving by rail rather than adding to road congestion."
Alex Veitch, integrated transport manager for ATOC, said the "staycation" trend of holidaying at home has been a major factor.
He said: "With more holidays in Britain, many resorts are busier and it seems people have realised it is less hassle to get the train and the journey can be part of the holiday experience."
Mr Burningham said much of the credit was due to the emergence of community rail partnerships such as the one he heads, in which rail companies, local councils and volunteers join to promote and improve services.
He said a reduction in off-peak pricing was attracting more users, citing a drop from ^10.70 to about ^7 on the Tarka▸ line between Barnstaple and Exeter. The route saw a 12 per cent increase ^ with more than 40,000 extra passengers boarding the trains.
Mr Burningham said the only negative issue was the age of some rolling stock.
He said: "Some Pacer trains in the Exeter area are due to be replaced with new stock which will have more seats.
"The key things is that the train is now fitting into people's lives and that is why we have got these big numbers."
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