REGULAR Sunday trains will run on the Tamar Valley Line this winter for the first time in 40 years.
Although there has been a service on Sundays during the summer for several years, the last time there were Sunday trains on the whole of the line during the winter was in 1961 — although Bere Alston had them until 1967.
There has been no public transport of any kind on Sundays in the area since then.
The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership put together the project, which has obtained funding from a number of local sources.
Rail Partnership manager, Richard Burningham, said: 'We are delighted that with the strong support of our partners we have been able to secure the first regular winter Sunday services on the Tamar Valley Line since the age of steam and Dr Beeching.
'We and the partners have done our bit — now it is down to local people to demonstrate that these services are needed by using them.'
The funding package will ensure Sunday services run until at least spring 2004.
There will be four trains each way from Sunday 30 September, providing new links to Plymouth and the national rail network for Tamar Valley residents as well as new visitor access to the Tamar Valley from outside the area.
Gunnislake councillor Godfrey Smale said he was 'absolutely delighted' at the news that there was going to be a seven-day-a-week service and hoped the number of passengers and money taken would justify it so it would continue in the future.
'The branch line is a tremendous asset', he said.
Devon County Council is also providing a brand new bus service linking Gunnislake with Tavistock, Lydford, Okehampton and Exeter, with two buses running each way on Sundays.
The popular Dartmoor and Tamar Valley Sunday Rover, currently available only during summer months, will be available all year round, allowing unlimited travel on a Sunday on the Tamar Valley Line trains, the connecting bus service and a number of other routes extending as far as Barnstaple and Bude.
Details of train times can be obtained from National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.
A free leaflet for the Dartmoor Sunday Rover can be obtained from local tourist information centres and libraries or by calling Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 233094.