Great Western Coffee Shop

This is absolute nuts, and won't stand a hope in hell's chance of getting there. But it'll raise a few smiles.

In connection with a significant redevelopment in the Pydar Street area of Truro, some people are suggesting (and it's got some Council Staff 'interested') that the old Market halt between the two viaducts in the City be reopened for passenger use to serve the development.

I've been polite at the display today of the plans, but quite honestly this is the kind of thing that puts genuine campaigns for service enhancement and re-opening at enormous disadvantage.

This 'planned' second station for the city is only THREE 10 car IET lengths from the existing station, which they are of course proposing remains open. I'd estimate a DDA conforming halt on the Cornish Mainline wouldn't leave much change from £20M too.

Plans at https://lovetruro.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/20191021-Pydar-Event-3-FINAL-Consultation-Boards_Rev-G.pdf ... not seeing any reference in them to a new station; railway viaduct there and an arrow pointing towards what I think is the current station.

There will always be questions along the "what about ..." lines that come from a public consultation, some of which will be gloriously impractical.   They are worth answering with "thank you for your interest" and an explanation of the issues that make them impractical as they confirm that option truly are / have been considered by the answerer; a key part of any development project is to ask "not only is this good" but also "is this best".


Grounds of a good reason why not ... cost, abstraction, thinning of services (if trains call at one OR the other) or slowing of services (if trains call at both).

Okay, I’ll bite:

Falmouth has three stations so why can’t Truro have two? How many IET car lengths between Falmouth Town and Falmouth Docks?

On a serious note, that is a b*gger of a hill up from the town to Truro station, and it must put a lot of people off using the train. That is, the type of people who use the stopping services. With services increased in December a station on that site would bring the town centre closer to the train.

However, if you are going to spend £20 million on a new station for Truro then it should be spent on a modest halt with some Park & Ride capacity at Threemilestone. There is going to be a huge amount of housing and business development in this area and the road into Truro is always horribly congested. Think Digby & Sowton.

Any other ideas where a new halt should be built in Cornwall (mainline or a branch line)?
Threemilestone is a contender. Marazion for Snives-Snerth services extended to Penzance, maybe?
Hard to think of a really strong case anywhere. Newquay-Par services are too infrequent for any type of P&R and Truro-Falmouth's timetable is tight as it is.

 

It’s North Cornwall and North-West Devon that desperately need some sort of railway revival, with just the Tarka line and nothing actually reaching the north coast between Newquay and Minehead.

A new station at Wadebridge perhaps. An expensive dream of mine is to rebuild from Okehampton back to the vicinity the old Halwill Junction and have a new Halwill Parkway serving this huge area with hourly direct trains to Exeter via Okehampton

The Falmouth Town/Docks situation is because BR opened what is now Town (The Dell) in 1970, closed Falmouth's original station (now Docks), found they couldn't terminate the branch trains at The Dell (on a gradient), still had to run pretty much to Docks anyway so accepted the inevitable and reopened the original station in 1975.  Penmere is a very different kettle of fish, opened by the GWR in 1925, a very useful station in a residential area of the town. 

The Truro Cattle Market station idea is much beloved by a well known local Councillor who has advocated it for many years now!

I agree with what you say about the best site for a new station in the Truro area.  You never know...….

A P&R at Threemilestone would require a relatively frequent stopping service into Truro to be attractive. They'd be well-advised to keep the west end of the 4th platform face at Truro free  - and relay the wiggly wobbly siding stub that currently stops just short of black bridge along it for use as a bay.