Cornish mainline and branch line delays - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[GBM]

A quick check on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows bus services running between Plymouth and St Austell this morning.
No direct trains between Plymouth and Penzance.
Nothing on journeycheck.

[Timmer]

A quick check on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows bus services running between Plymouth and St Austell this morning.
No direct trains between Plymouth and Penzance.
Nothing on journeycheck.

It is listed on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Engineering work page:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering

Track renewal work will impact all train services to/from Cornwall.

GWR trains will run between Plymouth and London Paddington, plus CrossCountry train services will run between Plymouth and Birmingham New Street or beyond.

Limited train services will operate between Plymouth and Liskeard.

Trains will run between Par and Penzance, plus on the Looe, Newquay, Falmouth Docks and St Ives branch lines in Cornwall.

Replacement buses are planned between:

Plymouth and St Austell (non-stop)
Liskeard and St Austell

[GBM]

So in addition to checking journeycheck before a trip, passengers also need to check a seperate page journeycheck engineering!
Sure the engineering works should be on the normal journeycheck page....

[ChrisB]

Not sure where you are accessing Journeycheck?

Check 'Improvement Works' on this page?
There's an 'Improvement Works' tab at top left too that gives date choices if you want info for other days

[GBM]

Travellers travelling the day would just check journeycheck to see if their chosen train is running/fully formed, etc.
Then have to check the engineering page for engineering works as well?
It would be helpful if engineering works appeared on the daily journeycheck page as well.

[ChrisB]

That is one page?…..

[GBM]

Due to a points failure between Plymouth and Penzance the line towards Penzance is blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:30 17/03.
Customer Advice
We're sorry for the delay to your journey.
-
A set of points at the Royal Albert bridge at Plymouth have failed. Network Rail colleagues are on site investigating.
As a consequence services from Plymouth to Penzance will be disrupted, however services towards Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington will run.

05:03 Penzance to London Paddington due 09:56
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington due 09:56 will no longer call at Taunton.
It has been delayed between Liskeard and Saltash and is now 30 minutes late.
This is due to a points failure.

1A73 0503 Penzance to London Paddington is now non stop between Exeter and Reading.
A rarity surely?

[GBM]

2P27 1850 Penzance to Plymouth (HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units))) WAS reported as delayed at St Germans due to a safety inspection of this train.
Please clarify - do the train crew inspect the outside and inside; or what!
It has been sat at (or just passed) St Germans since 20h30.

2M77 1915 Penzance to Bristol Temple Meads (5 car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan))) seems to have driven up to 2P27 (or near it), but has been sat there since 21h28.

5P90 2041 Par to Exeter Tmd (2 car unit) sat at Liskeard since 21h30.
2P29 2015 Penzance to Plymouth (9 car IET) sat at Bodmin since 21h30.
5P86 2039 Penzance to Laira T.& R.S.M.D. (9 car IET) sat outside Lostwithiel since 21h31.

[GBM]

2P27 arrived at Plymouth 74 minutes late with 1Z99 waiting for it.
2M77 arrived Plymouth 59 minutes late; left 57 minutes late.
5P90 arrived 59 late; still sat at platform.
1Z99 seems to have departed back to Laira without 2P27 (5P27).
5P27 departed for Laira 22h37.
2P29 arrived 26 late.
5P86 arrived 24 late.

[GBM]

Several branch cancellations this morning (shown as  train failure).
St Ives, Falmouth and Par all lost their first runs.
5C52 0354 Penzance T.& R.S.M.D. to Penzance (which then forms three branch services) was 16 minutes late into Penzance.
Thereafter, a few departures from Pnz were late leaving (delayed by broken down train earlier).

[ChrisB]

Train failed in platform preventing other services from leaving the depot until the failure was moved.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Par and Newquay
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Par and Newquay all lines are blocked.

Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice
Due to a fault with the signalling system, the line between Par - Newquay is blocked.
-
Rail replacement transport has been requested. No ETA.
-

[GBM]

Alterations to services at Penzance
Due to a points failure at Penzance fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from this station may be terminated at and started back from St Erth. Disruption is expected until 13:00 04/09.
Customer Advice
We're sorry for any disruption this brings to your travel plans today.
-
We're reducing the number of trains between St Erth and Penzance due to the decreased platform capacity at the station. Please check your journey at gwr.com/check
Additional Information
Points allow trains to switch between different tracks. When points fail, some parts of the railway can become congested or even blocked. Points can fail due to many reasons, such as debris, cold weather, or even due to the fail-safe system activating.

[GBM]

Alterations to services at Penzance
Due to a points failure at Penzance fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from this station may be terminated at and started back from St Erth. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[RailCornwall]

Tree down this afternoon (Sat 06 Sep 2025) on the Par - Newquay. 1215ish service stopped short of the Treffry Viaduct and returned to Par. (I was onboard) Pax^▸ (Passengers) transferred to St Austell on next available westbound service for onward transfer to Newquay by TfC^» (Transport for Cornwall - about) service bus. I abandoned this process at St Austell, returning home, and will be claiming a refund.