Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership

The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) is the Community Rail Partnership for rural passenger railways in the counties of Devon and Cornwall in the south west of England.

It was formed in 1991 and its role is to work with local councils and the railway industry to promote branch lines, help deliver improvements, work with communities and other local partners, and support economic growth.

The partnership was formed in 1991 and its accreditation with the Department for Transport was renewed in May 2025.^[1]

The DCRP is based at the University of Plymouth and is backed by Devon County Council, Cornwall Council, and Plymouth City Council. Railway industry backing came initially from Wessex Trains but it withdrew in 2006 when its franchise was transferred to Great Western Railway, which had joined the Partnership the previous year. Today the Partnership is backed by Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and South Western Railway as well as the local councils.

There are ten branch lines promoted by the DCRP, each supported by local councils with local forums made up of representatives from the local community.

• Atlantic Coast Line between Par and Newquay
• Avocet Line between Exeter Central and Exmouth
• Dartmoor Line between Exeter Central and Okehampton^[2]
• East Devon Line between Exeter St Davids and Axminster
• Looe Valley Line between Liskeard and Looe
• Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks
• Riviera Line between Exeter Central and Paignton
• St Ives Bay Line between St Erth and St Ives
• Tamar Valley Line between Plymouth and Gunnislake
• Tarka Line between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple

In addition, several railway stations have 'friends' groups supported by the partnership and which undertake local promotion of services and take on work such as gardening and litter collection.

The DCRP manages carnet schemes on some lines which allows books of train tickets to be sold in local shops. In 2011 one person in four was using these carnets on some routes.^[3]

A variety of promotional methods are employed, ranging from station or line timetables and scenic line guides, through to more specialised promotions.^[4][5][6][7]

The Partnership has produced two free booklets which detail walks from stations on the branch lines, in both counties. Walks are either circular or linear and are also downloadable from the Partnership's website.^[8]

The DCRP developed the concept of the rail ale trail which promote visits to pubs by train. The first trail was on the Tarka Line in 2002 which they developed with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The concept spread to other lines in Devon and Cornwall, and to other parts of the country. By 2010 there were trails on the Atlantic Coast, Looe Valley, Maritime, St Ives Bay, Tamar, and Tarka lines Trails are publicised on a special website and by printed leaflets and participants could claim special souvenirs including T-shirts.^[9]

There are many opportunities for spotting wild birds on both the Looe Valley Line and St Ives Bay Line. The Partnership has worked with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to produce leaflets and a video highlighting this.^[10]

The Partnership has produced 'foodie guides' for the Looe Valley Line, Maritime, Tarka and Avocet Lines. The guides detail cafes, restaurants, local markets and food events that people can get to by train. Businesses were chosen based on their use of local produce and championing of local suppliers.

The Partnership has secured additional investment to improve services on the branch lines over the years.

The additional services funded have included:

• Sunday services on the Tamar Valley Line and the Maritime Line throughout the year, whereas previously they had run just in the peak summer
• Summer Sunday services on the Atlantic Coast and Looe Valley lines
• Extra trains on the Atlantic Coast and Tarka lines.
• Additional weekday trains on the Atlantic Coast Line in 2004 - the line's best train service for many years.
• Station improvements on the Atlantic Coast, Looe Valley, Tamar Valley, and Tarka lines, and also a summertime ticket office at Looe station.

All in all, the investment and promotion has seen passenger numbers on all of the branch lines (excluding the East Devon Line) double since 2001.

The passing loop opened in 2009 at Penryn on the Maritime Line was the first loop to be installed on a community rail line. It allowed the service frequency to be doubled in an effort to bring economic improvements to the area. The DCRP investigated the travel patterns on the Tamar Valley Line at this time and discovered that a three-hour gap in services was preventing people from travelling so one extra service was added which GWR credited with giving 'quite a hefty chunk of (additional passenger) volume in the first year'. There was a 19% increase in passenger volume across GWR's community lines in 2009 and 6% in 2010 (this includes those outside Devon and Cornwall).^[3]

The Dartmoor Line was reopened on 20 November 2021 and the DCRP included it in the branch lines they promote, including as an access point to Dartmoor National Park. At Okehampton, the terminus, the DCRP work with the Dartmoor Railway Association to care for the building.^[2] The DCRP is keen to see a study into the reopening of the line from Bere Alston to Tavistock line which is another part of the same route as Okehampton that was closed in 1968.^[11]

Another passing loop was brought into use in 2026 on the Atlantic Coast Line to allow an hourly service to operate along with through trains from London, along with the restoration of a second platform at Newquay. 726 additional passengers were carried during the first week of the enhanced train service.^[12][13]

Wessex Trains, the company that operated local services until 2006, gave special liveries to some of their Class 150 and Class 153 diesel multiple units to promote the lines in the Partnership. They worked not just in Devon and Cornwall but further afield too and so could be seen at places such as Southampton Central, Cardiff Central, and Bristol Temple Meads. Most continued to work for Great Western Railway but from 2007 they were all either repainted into that company's livery or taken off lease and transferred to other operators.

• List of ACoRP members

• Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership
• Devon and Cornwall Rail Ale Trails
• Great Scenic Railways in Devon and Cornwall