|
|
|
|
St Ives Bay Line
|
| |
|
| |
The St Ives Bay Line is a railway line from St Erth to St Ives in Cornwall, UK. It was opened in 1877 by the St Ives Branch Railway, and subsumed into the Great Western Railway the following year. It was the last broad gauge railway to be built in Britain, and was converted to standard gauge in 1892. In 1979 a new station, Lelant Saltings, was opened between Lelant and St Erth.
communities served by the route are:
The branch line is single track for its whole length with no passing places.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'St Ives Bay Line' Start a new discussion about 'St Ives Bay Line' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The St Ives Bay Line is a railway line from St Erth to St Ives in Cornwall, UK. It was opened in 1877 by the St Ives Branch Railway, and subsumed into the Great Western Railway the following year. It was the last broad gauge railway to be built in Britain, and was converted to standard gauge in 1892. In 1979 a new station, Lelant Saltings, was opened between Lelant and St Erth.
Route
The communities served by the route are:
The branch line is single track for its whole length with no passing places. It runs alongside the Hayle estuary and then the sea coast and is promoted as a good place to see birds from the train. It has also been listed as one of the most picturesque railways in England.
The line diverges from the Cornish Main Line at St Erth. After the line goes underneath the two A30 road bridges (underneath a roundabout) the line follows the western side of the estuary. After Lelant railway station the line enters a long cutting and round the corner, where the line comes out with the Lelant golf course on the left, and the sand dunes of Porth Kidney Sands beach on the right. The line then climbs up and onto the steep cliffs, about 30m above sea level. Soon after is Carbis Bay railway station, serving the holiday town of the same name. The line then continues on the cliff's edge until you reach the small terminus at the popular coastal resort of St Ives
In recent years, due to heavy traffic congestion in St Ives, the railway has been promoted as a Park and Ride for visitors to the town, with the construction of new facilities at Lelant Saltings, close to the A30 road.
Services
Passenger services are currently operated by First Great Western. Previously, Wessex Trains held the franchise on this route, hence the Sprinter trains which operate on this branch line still carry the local tourist route liveries including a bright blue Super Sprinter unit titled ‘The St. Ives Bay line’. In the summer months when traffic levels are high, most services are run by two-car Class 150 sets, and in the winter the branch is run by a single-car Class 153.
When First Great Western took over the operation of this line from Wessex Trains there were huge line cuts. The service was reduced from 26 trains per day to 16 trains, but this was the winter timetable and the summer of 2007 saw a return to the previous service level.
Two or three trains from St Ives continue to Penzance and vice versa each day to facilitate crew changes.
Community rail
The St Ives Bay Line is one of the railway lines supported by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, an organisation formed in 1991 to promote railway services in the area. The line is promoted by many means such as regular timetable and scenic line guides, as well as leaflets highlighting leisure opportunities such as walking, birdwatching, and visiting country pubs.
The Tarka Line rail ale trail was launched on 3 June 2005 to encourage rail travellers to visit pubs near the line. Of the 14 participating pubs, five are in St Ives,one in Lelant, two close to Lelant Saltings, one near St Erth and five in Penzance 6, 10 or 14 stamps collected in the Rail Ale Trail leaflet entitle the participant to claim special St Ives Bay Line Rail Trail souvenir merchandise.
Wessex Trains painted Class 153 single-car DMU number 153329 in a special blue livery and large coloured pictures promoting the line and named it St Ives Bay Line. It is still in service with First Great Western and works throughout its network, not just on its named line.
The branch was designated as a community railway line in July 2005, being one of seven pilots for the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy. This aims to increase the number of passengers and reduce costs to make lightly used railways more economically sustainable. Among its aims are a higher-frequency of service, to introduce local tickets and ticket vending machines, and public art on the stations promoting the line as the artistic gateway to St Ives.
Passenger volume
The number of passengers travelling on the St Ives line appears to have been declining in recent years. This is a function of most tickets sold on the line being branch line rangers, rather than point to point tickets, so usage is not attributed to any particular station.
| | 2002-03 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
|---|
| Lelant Saltings | 17,001 | 18,281 | 23,774 | 653 | | Lelant | 6,913 | 8,697 | 1,653 | 250 | | Carbis Bay | 60,620 | 66,298 | 23,737 | 6,347 | | St Ives | 213,397 | 220,300 | 171,281 | 117,131 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Gallery
Popular culture
The line was referred to in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.
Further reading
External links
|
| |
|
|
