The purpose of the scheme was to link London with Falmouth, a port where packet ships sailed to destinations in Europe, Africa, and America.

[1] Construction commenced in 1847 but the main contractor suffered financial problems which put a temporary stop to any work.

The inhabitants of Falmouth soon put pressure on the company to complete the line to their town as originally intended, and a further Act of Parliament was obtained in 1861.

The line was costly to build with six viaducts and two tunnels and it opened on 24 August 1863, by which time the packet ships had been diverted elsewhere.

The line terminated at the Town station for five years before reopening to the original terminus at the docks in 1975 to permit through services from London.

The Rail Partnership promote a Foodie Guide to the line to encourage people to visit local cafes, restaurants and food events.

[6] Wessex Trains painted a Class 150 two-car DMU (number 150265) in coloured pictures promoting the line and named it The Falmouth Flyer.

The unit continued in service with First Great Western when the company won the franchise but it has now been repainted in the standard fleet colours.

Strategies for investigation include more effective revenue collection, a passing loop, improved bus links, and working with ferry operators and colleges in the area.

In 2004 a proposal was put forward to reinstate a passing loop on the line, to allow for a doubling of service frequency.

[10] The loop was brought into use ahead of schedule and to budget, with the formal opening by Kevin Lavery, the Chief Executive of Cornwall Council, taking place at Penryn station on 18 May 2009.

Works included a new car park and waiting shelter at Penryn, in addition to the new loop, signalling and platform lengthening.

The trains join the main line for the first half-mile to Penwithers Junction, passing through the 70-yard (64 m)-long Higher Town Tunnel on the way.

The small excavated area of land on the left is a local nature reserve which supports rare plants due to its unusual position in a triangle of rail routes - the Maritime Line, the disused continuation of the West Cornwall Railway to the riverside at Newham, and a never-built route allowing Cornwall Railway trains to reach Newham.

The line passes beneath the A39 road from Truro to Falmouth at Treluswell, Four Cross, and then shortly enters Penryn which grew up at the head of a large inlet of the River Fal.

At Penryn there is a wide open space now occupied by student housing for the Tremough Campus of the University of Falmouth.

Trains first call at the Penmere railway station, useful for people heading for the top of The Moor in the town centre, or for the newer western suburbs.

Falmouth Docks are below the station on the left, Pendennis Castle overlooks both these and the Gyllyngvase Beach on the other side of the line.

Even Perranwell (where the extra trains do not always stop) has increased by a healthy 93% [18] The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Before World War I the winter timetable for the Cornish Riviera Express showed that it included at least one through carriage for Falmouth, this being detached/attached at Truro, and this facility continued until the summer of 1939 until the advent of World War 2 when that train ran through to Penzance only without any portions being attached/detached for any of the Cornish branches.

[23] An unusual working in March 2000 was a visit to Falmouth Docks by preserved Warship Class locomotive number D821 which was renamed Cornwall[i] alongside the Royal Navy ship HMS Cornwall[24][25] The proposed Mid-Cornwall Metro scheme would see hourly extensions of the service from Falmouth beyond Truro to St Austell and Newquay (with a reversal at Par), creating a coast to coast through-service with the aim of easing road congestion for people living along the route.