The line from St Budeaux to Bere Alston was opened for passenger traffic on 2 June 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PDSWJ) as part of their line from Lydford to Devonport, which in effect was an extension of the London and South Western Railway's main line from London Waterloo station to Lydford, enabling the LSWR to reach Plymouth independently of the Great Western Railway.

[2][page needed] The line was listed for closure in the Reshaping of British Railways Report but was kept open because the roads in the areas served were poor.

Today services are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 150 diesel multiple units.

[4] This operation was shown in an episode of the Channel 5 documentary series "The Railway - First Great Western" in October 2013.

10 stamps collected entitle the participant to claim special Tamar Valley Line Rail Trail souvenir merchandise.

[6] Wessex Trains covered Class 150 2-car DMU number 150240 in coloured pictures promoting the line and named The Tamar Kingfisher.

[7] On 18 March 2008, Devon County Council backed a proposal by developers Kilbride Community Rail to construct 750 houses in Tavistock that includes reopening the 5.5-mile (9 km) line from Bere Alston to a new Tavistock railway station, at a cost of £18.5million.