Although the majority of a scheme to create the £56.8m Mid Cornwall Metro rail improvement through the Duchy is on budget, one element has been hit by higher costs, writes Local Democracy Reporter Lee Trewhela.

A Cornwall Council scrutiny committee heard today (Wednesday, September 4) that the cost of building a new accessible lift bridge at Par station has increased by over £1m and is unlikely to be delivered within the project’s time-frame.

The project, which received almost £50m of Government Levelling Up funding, will deliver direct hourly train services connecting Newquay, Par, St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth. It will also enable additional long-distance services from London, doubling the service frequency.

The scheme will require heavy rail improvements by Network Rail, including an additional platform at Newquay station and more signalling across the route. In addition to that, it has been an ambition of South West train company GWR to improve access at Par station, so a new lift access bridge has been a vital part of the project.

The network would also be modernised for digitalised payment, and access works would be improved at Newquay, Penryn, Roche and Bugle stations for pedestrians and cyclists.

The scrutiny committee previously insisted the Mid Cornwall Metro had to be delivered within budget. Members heard today that the project has just passed a “gateway point” where cost estimates have moved to a properly costed scheme. Senior Cornwall Council officer Phil Mason said the figure was not “significantly different” from the original estimate.

However, he said the Par bridge build was now coming out at a higher cost than originally predicted.

“We still want to deliver Par bridge if at all possible, but it’s not an absolute requirement now for GWR in terms of the service level agreement they have with us.

"If the project cannot fund all of that bridge, the amount of money that it can fund will be ring-fenced and we will work with partners to extend the time-scale if necessary to deliver the bridge and look for other funding to complete that project.

“It’s everybody’s desire to get that bridge built,” added Mr Mason. The committee heard that the £3.8m estimate for the Par bridge had increased to a more recent estimate of up to £5m, which will be confirmed by January. That could be covered by a contingency fund of £7.5m within the scheme.

The meeting heard that the Newquay station works are now underway and work is due to start on a passing loop on Goss Moor allowing for two Intercity London to Newquay trains to pass each other, with a plan to introduce the Mid Cornwall Metro service in June 2025.