Cornish Main Line
| Cornish Main Line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The Royal Albert Bridge crossing the River Tamar | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Operational | ||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Locale | Cornwall, England | ||
| Termini | |||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| System | National Rail | ||
| Operator(s) | Passenger: Great Western Railway, CrossCountry Freight: GB Railfreight | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1867 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 79.5 miles (128 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | Double with three single track sections | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
| Old gauge | 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge | ||
| Operating speed | 75 mph (121 km/h) maximum | ||
| |||
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in Cornwall and the south-west corner of Devon, in England. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing the county boundary on the Royal Albert Bridge over the river Tamar at Saltash. It is the southernmost railway line in the United Kingdom and the westernmost in England.
The line forms the backbone for railway services in Cornwall. It serves Truro, St Austell, Bodmin (by a Parkway station) and Liskeard; branches from it serve St Ives, Falmouth, Newquay and Looe. Directly connected to the South Devon Main Line at Plymouth, it also carries direct trains to/from London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Edinburgh.