Little-used Westcountry train stations risk being axed under the new contract to run Great Western rail services.

The Government is drawing up the terms of the rail franchise to run inter-city services in the region from next year.

In a consultation document, the Department for Transport asks whether some branch line stops should be forsaken to speed-up journey times.

It states: "Should branch line services continue to call at all branch line stations, or could the needs of most passengers be better met by omission of some of the intermediate stops on some or all of the trains, so that the final destination is reached more quickly?"

There would be an outcry if there was a repeat of the Dr Beeching reforms of the 1960s which closed more than 100 miles of Westcountry railway lines and scores of stations.

But many stations across Cornwall and Devon are used by only a few hundred people each year, the franchise replacement consultation shows.

Coombe Junction Halt station near Liskeard, Cornwall, recorded just 42 "exits and entries" stops in 2019/10, and Chapelton, a rural station on the Tarka Line, near Barnstaple, North Devon, only 162.

The consultation also raises a question over the vital overnight sleeper service between Cornwall and the capital, which was threatened with the axe in 2006.

It asks: "What should be the future of the overnight service between Paddington and Penzance, given that the sleeping cars and, especially, the locomotives, are ageing?"

Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP, whose St Ives constituency includes Penzance, said: "If the sleeper service is under threat, then we would resurrect the arguments from last time. It would cost billions to get the far South West the high-speed service if we were not to get the sleeper service. To deny us both would be unacceptable."

Of rural branch lines, he added: "In my experience there are very few services on a branch line where it would be advantageous not to stop at every station."

But Christopher Irwin, chairman of passenger campaign group TravelWatch South West, said of skipping under-used stations: "It's a way of improving local services without driving people crazy.

"It's all about service improvement for the greatest number. My main concern is where that sort of analysis doesn't take account of all passenger interests.

"There are genuine needs of people locally that have got to be addressed too. You need to programme it so you do a bit of a compromise between the two."

The document has been published to gauge the views of "stakeholders", namely passengers, politicians, business and campaigners. An invitation to tender will be published in May, with bids expected by August and the winner announced in December. The franchise, currently operated by First, includes rail services across the South West and Wales, including the mainline between Paddington and Penzance.