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Dawlish rail line protection

Dawlish rail line is the only economically viable rail route through the south west, councillors told

The Dawlish rail line is the only viable route for a railway between Exeter and Plymouth and will be protected until at least the end of the 21st century, councillors have been told.

Plans are being made to protect the line to ensure the devastating storms of 2014 that saw the line cut off for six weeks doesn’t happen again, according to Julie Gregory, Senior Commercial Scheme Sponsor, Network Rail.

And answering questions from councillors of the Teignbridge Locality (Council) Committee, she said that the work they will be doing is to provide a strong and resilient line for the rest of the 21st century and that alternative routes are not economically viable.

Mrs Gregory explained that Network Rail had spent between £45-50m on putting the rail back into action and on infrastructure work since 2014, and £20m on tactical strengthening work close to the 2014 breach, and that the work is all about keeping it open and that they are thinking about how they will provide that resilience throughout the 21st century.

Cllr Gordon Hook had asked: “We all want to see the work being successful and the line being protected. We have heard about the figures of £50m of infrastructure and £20m of tactical strengthening which is critical work for Network Rail and we are happy that they will spend the money for years and year. But one day it will become economically unproductive and viable to continue to invest in the railway line, so that is the £64billion question of when that might be.

In response, Mrs Gregory said: “The work we are doing is to provide a strong and resilient line for the rest of the 21st century. After the storms of 2014, we did looked at alternative routes, and economically they were not an option for us and they would take the line away from the communities that need it. We are looking to maintain the line for the next 100 years.”

Network Rail has previously unveiled the £500million option to rebuild the line on a 400metre causeway on the beach near Spray Point at Teignmouth. The causeway option would see the line rebuild from the tunnel at Smugglers’ Lane, out on to the beach past Spray Point, and then would curve back in land towards Teignmouth.

Mrs Gregory added that the next phase of work was scheduled to take place between 2019-2024, subject to funding from the Department for Transport.

 

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