The mayor of Penryn and Cornwall Councillor Bert Biscoe cut a train shaped cake on Monday to celebrate a milestone in transport between Truro and Falmouth.

In a ceremony on Penryn station platform, the newly elected mayor Gill Grant and other dignitaries marked five years since the opening of the Penryn passing loop on the Maritime Line, which has led to a doubling in train traffic, with more than double the number of passengers.

She said: “I think the fact that we have got the loop has made such a difference to transport between Truro, Penryn and Falmouth, and I’m very pleased to have been able to celebrate it.”

Councillor Biscoe, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Transport and Waste, said: “A small piece of work in Penryn has given rise to the fastest growing railway line in the UK, and played a significant part in revitalising confidence in the railway.

“It was the result of a unique partnership between Cornwall Council, Network Rail and First Great Western, which paved the way for similar partnerships elsewhere.”