A NEW train service launching next year will connect two seaside towns in Cornwall for the first time.
Soon holidaymakers and locals in Cornwall will be able to board an hourly service from Newquay to Falmouth.
The new train route will run direct trains between the coasts for the first time, according to Network Rail.
Currently, Brits who want to take a train from Newquay to Falmouth need to change services in St Austell.
This involves boarding both a bus and a train, with public transport journeys taking over two hours.
Newquay is one of Cornwall‘s most popular seaside towns and is a known surfing hotspot.
While Falmouth isn’t as well known as Newquay, the charming coastal town does have a picturesque harbour.
Construction work on the new route has already started, with 500 metres of new track and a new crossing being installed at Newquay Train Station where a second platform is being built.
The new direct journey will call at six stations, including Newquay, Par, St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth.
When the services launch in 2026, they will run every hour.
Other details, such as ticket prices and departure times, are yet to be announced.
The new train route is part of a Mid Cornwall Metro Project, which is seeking to improve rail journeys in the county.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”New European Sleeper Train Route Goes Through 15 Destinations” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368767067112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]£56.8million is being pumped into the Mid Cornwall Metro Project, most of which has come from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.
Improvements to five Cornish train stations will also take place under the plans, including Newquay, Roche, Bugle, Par and Penryn.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D107776%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]The new direct train route and improvement work to the stations will see an additional 700,000 seats per year added
Bogdan Lupu, the project director from Network Rail, told the BBC: “It’s a single track line, so we can’t run a lot of trains.
“The loop is going to enable us to pass more trains so we’ll be able to run a train every hour.
“In the summer, you’re going to be able to run both local trains and London-Paddington trains to Newquay, which is going to be great for the local community and for visitors. It will change the face of Newquay.”
Elsewhere in the UK, Portishead Railway Station could reopen within the next two years, more than seven decades after its previous railway hub was demolished.
And a new £96million train station is set to open in trendy UK neighbourhood compared to New York.
Liverpool Baltic Station will be located in the city’s Baltic Triangle, which has previously been likened to New York City’s meatpacking district.
And the new £460million Curzon Street Station will open in Birmingham – the first of its kind in the UK in 130 years.
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