Falmouth Branch Line - stations, facilities, services and improvements - ongoing discussion, merged posts

[whole diary]

[LiskeardRich]

From http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/10383151.End_of_free_parking_at_Penryn_rail_station/?ref=ms

Penryn commuters and rail passengers will need to keep some spare change handy from now on if they want to use the town^s station car park.
 
At the last meeting of the civic year, Penryn town councillors heard from county representative Mary May that the long awaited ticket machine, first mooted last April, had finally been installed.
 
For a while the machine was ^still in its packaging^ Mrs May said, but now ^it^s all wired up and ready to go^.
 
Parking in the station car park now costs ^1.30 a day, with German-based APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) Parking enforcing the charges.
 
Tickets expire at 23.59pm on day of purchase according to the sign, which implies that overnight parking in the car park is effectively banned ^ although a spokesman for First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) said two-day tickets, priced at ^2.60, ^should be^ available from the machine.
 
Hapless motorist Adrian Evans was caught out by the new charges this week when he ^received an ^80 fine for not having a ^1.30 parking ticket, which seems very unfair especially as it^s not been mentioned anywhere,^ he said.
 



He asked the Packet to ^warn others as it is not listed on First Great Western^s website and is hard to see, especially if you arrive in the early hours!^
 
There are two bright blue signs in the car park advertising the new charges, both with the ^1.30 per day^ tariff displayed in a large font.
 
Only one of the signs is directly illuminated, however.

APCOA also manage the car park at Penmere train station in Falmouth on behalf of FGW, but parking here is still free - subject to conditions.
 

About time really, when I lived in Penryn you could never park there anywhere as full of students. Also as payableb by phone and card, it is extendable more than a day, just need to be prepared at 00:00 to pay for your next ticket.

[Cornubian]

Many new freight flows for have been rumoured over the years, most never being more than rumours unfortunately. It's strange that Network Rail are going ahead with the lifting of the yard, given that if Scotland does vote to break away from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), then everthing nuclear from Faslane would be coming south, with Falmouth being one of the sites for storage, mentioned by some sources, as Devonport wouldn't have the capacity to do so.

Maybe by lifting the yard, more finance would be available to create a new yard if this happened with the cash coming from government instead of NR^» (Network Rail - home page)!

On another note, should consideration be given to closing both Falmouth Town and Docks stations, with a new all purpose one being built on the flat between both existing stations....... thoughts anyone!

[Southern Stag]

A new station between Docks and the Town would be a bit far from the town for me, Town station is already a bit of a walk from the town, especially some parts as the town is fairly spread out.

[LiskeardRich]

On another note, should consideration be given to closing both Falmouth Town and Docks stations, with a new all purpose one being built on the flat between both existing stations....... thoughts anyone!

The only issue doing this would be access, the land between the two are surrounded by housing, there would be no car parking facility without scatting down the houses.
Not many people use the train to go to Falmouth Town, Barring the hill at Penmere, Penmere is better situated for the town as the main area of town is the Penmere end

[caliwag]

Aye...leave it as it is to my mind. It's all a gradient from Penmere anyway.

[Cornubian]

Just before the Ocean Bowl site, the area is quite flat, where there were a number of sidings in the past, area is all overgrown now though. It would be straight forward to site a modern platform there, with car parking.

The problem we experience on trains at Falmouth Town is the gap between the train and the platform which does pose problems/difficulty to elderly and disabled passengers and is time consuming with passengers with luggage.

Could be funded by developers, who could build further student accommodation on the site of the Docks station as a trade off.

[Plymboi]

Wait what? Falmouth is getting a new station?

[Cornubian]

No, just a thread, thought I'd ask for opinions!

[Umberleigh]

Disappointing news in light of Heathfield's resurrection, for example.

Although it feels a little churlish to complain when you consider the investment made into the passenger service on this line.

[molinnis]

Sunday 25th First Great Western are running a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) special Truro to Falmouth to celebrate 150 years of this line. More info here http://www.greatscenicrailways.com/news.html

[RichardB]

Sunday 25th First Great Western are running a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) special Truro to Falmouth to celebrate 150 years of this line. More info here http://www.greatscenicrailways.com/news.html

Thanks for this.  Just to say, there are still a few tickets left for the HST.  I have updated the news page (link above) with more details including how to apply.

150th Anniversary celebrations kicked off yesterday with the opening of "Falmouth on Track", a very nice exhibition about the line being held at The Poly which is in Church St in Falmouth town centre.  Open 10AM - 4PM daily (except Sundays) until 7 September.  Admission free.

The Poly is about ten minutes' walk from Falmouth Town station.

[The Tall Controller]

Just to add that I have a spare ticket going should anyone want it

[Chris from Nailsea]

Just to say, there are still a few tickets left for the HST^▸ (High Speed Train).  I have updated the news page (link above) with more details including how to apply.

Thanks for that very useful update, Richard. 

[marky7890]

I got some photos of it! This is the return working to Truro.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Falmouth Packet:

Crowds make tracks to Falmouth rail anniversary: PICTURES



Visitors to Falmouth on Saturday could be forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief, after a huge old steam train appeared on the Moor overnight.

The improbable, and imposing, sight of a 45 ton steam locomotive in Falmouth was part of the weekend of celebrations to mark 150 years of the Maritime Line railway service.

The Bank Holiday weekend saw celebrations and events across the town on the anniversary of the railway reaching the town 150 years ago, organised by Richard Burningham of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

Built by the Great Western Railway at Swindon in 1937, 0-6-0 Pannier tank no. 6435 is owned and operated by the Bodmin And Wenford Railway, and normally rattles the rails between Bodmin Parkway, Bodmin General and Boscarne Junction. Pannier tank engines were once a common sight working on branch lines throughout the Southwest.

In the cab for the day was driver Courtney Berryman. Originally from St Agnes, he started his working life in 1956 with British Railways at Truro motive power depot.

He regularly worked trains along the Falmouth branch, when it was very busy with freight as well as passenger traffic. He recalls days shunting the goods yards at Perranwell, Penryn and the interchange sidings at Falmouth Docks.

The Poly has also been hosting a special ^Falmouth on Track ^ How the Railway Changed the Town^ exhibition of photographs and memorabilia from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society history collection to mark the 150th anniversary of the Falmouth railway line. There was the opportunity to view working models of early trains courtesy of Falmouth Model Railway Group and plenty of railway based activities for the young visitors.

Sunday saw the anniversary continue with the arrival of a special train into Falmouth Docks station. The fast mainline train, which usually plies its trade on the Penzance to London route, travelled the Maritime Line from Truro packed with railway fans and local dignitaries.

The chairman of First Great Western, Charles Howeson, and leading driver Phil Jones then joined Falmouth^s mayor Geoffrey Evans on the station platform to unveil a plaque commemorating 150 years of rail service from Truro to Penryn and Falmouth.