That would entirely depend if it's Padstow-Bodmin, or Padstow-Okehampton
( the latter is probably up there in the "worst cases for reopening" list! )
Padstow+Wadebridge is something around 13,000 pop. Not sure how much holiday traffic you'd pull in - Padstow's about as on the coast as Barnstaple is. It might stimulate some local public transport, I suppose - Polzeath would always be a ferry & bus ride though. Surprisingly the route seems intact all the way, including even Padstow station - although the solution to getting through Wadebridge should be interesting given there's a road directly on the route & no way around. Almost made for tram-trains.
Have you seen how busy Padstow gets with tourists ?
The bus route is also very long and windy and not particularly suited for it IMO.
A reopened Padstow line would connect a tourist honeypot with two decent sized towns (Padstow and Bodmin) with the main line, so should certainly be worth considering.
However, its a different prospect to building the route through mid-Devon. Fundamentally, the bit in the middle is a bit of a loss leader that makes the overall whole more useful. The section between Bentham and Giggleswick on the Little North Western probably doesn't generate much traffic of itself, but it makes the whole route vastly more useful than just having a branch to Bentham and the line through Settle.
If people want to go to Plymouth or West it won't make much difference to them whether they're travelling over moorland or a rainforest.
Ministers and HM Treasury would dearly love to not to have to pay for any public infrastructure or services, but that's not how the world works.
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