Stories from the Station

Three videos telling some aspects of the story of Newquay Railway Station

From its earliest inception as a mineral tramway to the passenger railway station with a line running from Par to Newquay. The first passenger train arrived in Newquay on 20th June 1876 and this in turn led to the expansion of tourism in Newquay. The Great Western Hotel, Newquay's first major hotel was constructed nearby, the architect being Silvanus Trevail, opening in 1879. Trevail would later be the driving force behind other grand hotels in Newquay, the Atlantic in 1892 and Headland in 1900.

Today 150 years later a new project to increase interconnectivity between the large towns of Newquay and Falmouth with the city of Truro the Mid-Cornwall Metro has come into existence. Sunday 17 May 2026 saw the first phase starting the best train service along the Par/Newquay branch line since the 1960's.

Mid-Cornwall Metro

One hundred and fifty years after the first passenger train the new Mid-Cornwall Metro offers a faster and interconnective service across the centre of Cornwall. Find out more from this Konsel Kernow video

Newquay Railway Station - History Boards

Origins of the branch line & passenger travel
The History of the Great Western Hotel
Silvanus Trevail and the Headland Riots
Reg Ennor - EXPO [1]
Reg Ennor - Newquay Remembers

Originally published in the Newquay, St Austell, Truro Voice newspapers, the Cornish Times and Cornish and Devon Post, to support the Stories from the station project

A weekly Cornish heritage column at: www.cornwallheritage.com/blogs-index

The blogs relating to these articles can be read with some additions by clicking the links below: