The proposed cuts will come into effect in December as part of First's new Great Western franchise timetable - which includes cutting one train a day on the Falmouth to Truro branch line.

The proposals have horrified Matt McTaggart, the county council's executive member for strategic planning and transport, who says they will have a devastating effect on the county's rail services.

"First are proposing massive cuts to both rural and commuter services in Cornwall, which will cause major inconvenience to rail users and damage the local economy " he said.

"We worked very successfully with Wessex Trains, who hand over their services to First on April 1, to improve rail services throughout the county.

"This resulted in a level of service which was well above the minimum requirement, with significant increases in the numbers of trains on branch lines, and a corresponding increase in passenger numbers - up 40% on the Newquay branch line, 21% on Falmouth and a 16% increase on the Looe line."

"All this hard work has been destroyed by First who are proposing to run the bare minimum of services to meet the Government's specification."

There are cuts in the number of services between the West of England and Westbury.

Mr McTaggart is angry at the way the Government awarded the franchise, which, he says, denied local authorities the chance to scrutinise details of bids from the three companies.

"Instead the process was done behind closed doors, with the Government accepting the bid from First without allowing any further discussions," he said. "I will now be demanding a meeting with First to discuss the proposed cuts and doing my best to ensure that they provide the best possible rail services for the people of Cornwall."