Freight trains have made a return to an industrial area of Liskeard after fears they wouldn’t be seen again.

A weekly load of cement is now being delivered from Aberthaw, near Cardiff, to the Tarmac distribution centre at Moorswater.

It has been three years since a freight train last trundled in at Moorswater, said Peter Murnaghan, of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

‘The track from Coombe Junction to the old china clay dries at Moorswater had been mothballed and many feared that they would never see a train again,’ he said.

‘However, a weekly train of cement now runs, operated by Colas Rail.

‘The 24 loaded wagons on each train take a number of heavy lorries off the road. It is an excellent example of bulk freight being moved in a sustainable way.

Railways in Cornwall carry a very small amount of rail freight, compared with other parts of the country,’ he continued.

’I hope that this new flow will encourage others to follow the example of Tarmac.’