Currently, traveling between Newquay and Falmouth by train involves quite the hassle due to the lack of a direct rail link.

The £56.8 million project is set to offer much-needed coast-to-coast rail travel in Cornwall. 

The full Mid Cornwall Metro service will be up and running by 2026, with direct trains running between Newquay and Falmouth every hour.

The Mid Cornwall Metro project is an exciting development which will offer a new hourly coast-to-coast rail service connecting Newquay, Par, St Austell, Truro, Penryn, and Falmouth, creating direct links between these charming seaside towns for the very first time.

The initiative, which is a collaboration between Network Rail, Cornwall Council, and Great Western Railway, aims to provide better connectivity across Cornwall.

The project will unfold in three distinct phases, with the first set to be completed by this month – February 2025.

Following this, the project will see the creation of a 400-meter passing loop at Goss Moor by March 2025, which will allow trains to pass one another and improve service reliability. 

The final phase, set for completion in September 2025, will involve the installation of new digital signals, further enhancing operational efficiency.

Station improvements are also planned at key locations such as Roche and Bugle, to improve accessibility and integrate walking and cycling routes.

The service will include three trains per hour between St Austell and Truro, with increased frequency for stations between Par, St Austell, and Truro and the Maritime Line (Truro to Falmouth) will continue to operate two trains every hour.

The entire network will also benefit from the introduction of tap-in, tap-out Pay As You Go ticketing, extending the system throughout Cornwall, Plymouth, and the Tamar Valley Line.

If you currently want to go from Falmouth to Newquay via public transport, you need to change at St Austell, with passengers needing to take a train to St Austell and then switch to another train or bus for the remaining journey, which typically takes over two hours.