Focal News & Events
The next Focal meeting
will be held in Sembal House, St. Austell, at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 8th September.
Sembal House can be found at the top of West Hill just off Trinity Street. Postcode PL25 5ET.
Model Railway
Exhibition, August 2010
Dame Mary Holborow, Lord Lieutenant of
Cornwall, officially opened a two-day event to mark the 175th anniversary
of the Great Western Railway.
Held on the 14th &
15th August in
conjunction with St Austell Model Railway Club, the event was also attended by St
Austell Mayor Jill Trewhella.
At the same time, Focal
celebrated news of a 54.8 per cent increase in the number of
passengers using the Par - Newquay branch line; the most significant
passenger growth of any First Great Western route in the past 12 months.
 Try
the Train
initiative launched, March 2010
In March 2010 Focal launched an initiative that aims to
encourage local school children to use public transport
whenever possible.
Luxulyan School was selected due to its close proximity to our
Branch Line and Headmaster Brian McCaldin's desire to educate
pupils about alternative forms of transport. 35 pupils were
accompanied on a journey to Newquay by train and bus and Blue
Light Media was commissioned to make a film of the day out [more].
Record passenger numbers in
2009!
Figures
released by First Great Western show that Atlantic Coast Line
passenger numbers in 2009 (for the period ending 12th December) were
up by 60% on 2008. For the last 4 week period of the year
numbers rose by 88.7%!
The Cornish
Guardian reports (17 November) that a total of 63,120 one way
tickets were sold this year, smashing the previous record high of
60,832, set in 2004, with three months' figures still to come which
could result in a total of 70,000 people using the branch line for
travel [more].
150th Anniversary of the Cornwall
Railway, August 2009
Focal and the
Par Old Cornwall Society celebrated 150 years of the Cornwall
Railway at an exhibition held on 29th August, organised by historian
Stephen Austin. More than 300 visitors attended the Gott Hall
in Par, with 7 new members signing up to help support our work.
 New
Patron for Focal, August 2009
Focal are pleased and proud to
announce Lady Mary Holborow, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, as the group's Patron.
Visit by Lord Adonis, Secretary
of State for Transport,
April
2009
At the start of
his five day rail voyage across Britain, Lord Adonis travelled today
(14th April) on the 9.19am local service from Par on the Newquay
Branch Line, as a guest of Dan Rogerson MP.
The Secretary of
State met with Focal members in what is described as "a considerable
success" with the potential for far-reaching consequences for Focal
objectives.
 Furthering
our Cause, March 2009
On 17th March Focal
members travelled to London in style (courtesy of First Great
Western) to meet with
Dan Rogerson MP
for North Cornwall, and the Dept for Transport in preparation for next
month's visit by Lord Adonis.
Photo L-R: Geoff Mason-Brown,
Roger Webster & Alan Nicholson-Florence travel 1st Class
Celebrating Success, December
2008
 In just
two years
Focal has achieved a 75% increase in the frequency of local services on
the Newquay Branch Line, from four to seven services a day,
beginning 15th December 2008.
The
new
timetable includes early morning and late evening services, allowing
the possibility of commuting for the first time in many years.
On
Tuesday, 11th November Focal celebrated alongside 50 invited
guests on a very special rail journey from Par to Newquay followed by a
reception at the Great Western Hotel [more...]
First
Step to Improved Services, May 2008
Great Western
have purchased an extra train to run between Newquay and Par from
December 2008, offering new services to local communities, as Focal's Alan Nicholson-Florence explains in the Newquay Voice (right).
-
The new early
morning service is scheduled to depart Par 6.01am, arriving
Newquay 6.53am; depart Newquay 6.57am, arriving
Par 7.48am
-
For details of all train times, please see
FGW Timetable
Thanks
are due to
First Great Western, and to the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership
for their support in achieving this important milestone.
Exhibition Success, March 2008
 The Focal
exhibition was held at the Hotel Bristol in Newquay on 28th & 29th March,
centrepiece of which was a
28 foot long model of Newquay Station modified to
show the effect of extra line and a second platform.
19 Aug 2010.
Cornish Guardian,
Celebration as rail journeys rise by 50%
12 Jan 2010.
Cornish Guardian,
Reinstate platform one at Newquay, says rail group
17 Nov 2009.
Cornish Guardian,
More users than ever on Newquay branch line
27 Oct 2009.
Cornish Guardian,
Passengers take picturesque route but branch line work still needed
29 Sept 2009.
Cornish Guardian,
Letter of encouragement is sent to group by minister
09 Sept 2009.
Cornish Guardian,
Rail plan may link tourist hotspots
09 June 2009.
Cornish Guardian,
Busy time for the Atlantic Coast Line
14 April 2009.
Times Online,
Andrew Adonis takes a journey to the past – and the future?
17 Nov 2008.
Cornish Guardian,
Champagne on the train as extra trips boost branch line
13 Nov 2008.
Cornish Guardian,
Dignitaries celebrate increased rail services for Newquay
04 Nov 2008.
Cornish Guardian,
Newquay train service to be almost doubled
External web sites will open in a
new window
We regret that since local
newspapers have updated their websites, the links below have been broken
and cannot be retrieved
09 April 2009.
Newquay Voice,
Local group attracts Lord to railway cause
19 Nov 2008.
Newquay Voice,
Rail group new service recognised by Lord and Minister
12 Nov 2008.
Newquay Voice,
New rail service has special launch
05 Nov 2008.
Newquay Voice,
First branchline 'milestone' celebrated by railway group
14 May 2008.
Newquay Voice,
Extra passenger services promised for branchline
02 Apr 2008.
Newquay Voice,
Event builds pressure for development of station
02 Apr 2008.
Cornish Guardian,
Blueprint for train network linking key towns unveiled
19 Mar 2008.
Newquay Voice,
First time model makers recreate station approach
20 Feb 2008.
Newquay Voice,
MP lends support for rail link between Cornish towns
16 Jan 2008. Cornish Guardian,
Group aims to put 'eyesore' train station back on track
16 Jan 2008.
Newquay Voice,
Rail rejuvenation gets vital council backing
13 Jan 2008. Cornish Guardian,
Train route could make fast return
12 Dec 2007.
Newquay Voice,
Second line at heart of regeneration
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