A further £32 million has been pledged to protect the coastal rail line through Dawlish and Holcombe.
The cash will be used to add netting and fencing along the iconic Dawlish and Holcombe route to protect it from cliff erosion.
This latest round of funding, which follows on from three earlier phases of work and takes the total to more than £150 million, will prevent storm debris from reaching the railway.
Protection works have been ongoing since the devastating storms of 2014 washed the line away. The Network Rail ‘Orange Army’ worked around the clock to reconnect the main rail line to the region. The then Prime Minister David Cameron was the first to travel on the line when it re-opened eight weeks later.
In 2018, the then transport secretary Chris Grayling stated that protecting the Dawlish line was a ‘number one national transport priority’.
The government launched the South West Rail Resilience Programme (SWRRP), a £155 million commitment to create a more resilient railway to ensure communities are no longer at risk from being disconnected from the network for long periods of time.
Through this funding, the the sea wall along the Marine Parade has been re-built, further cliff protection measures added alongside accessibility improvements.
Engineers are currently constructing a new 209m rockfall shelter as an extension of Parsons Tunnel, which was previously extended 100 years ago. It is due to be completed in August.
And work to construct a second section of sea wall from Coastguard breakwater east of Dawlish station to Colonnade breakwater is expected to be completed in 2023.
But Phase Five of the scheme further along the line between Parson’s Tunnel and Teignmouth which involves moving the line ‘out to sea’, losing some of Holcombe beach, to protect the line from cliff falls has yet to progress.
The plans faced local opposition, led by the Save Teignmouth Beach campaign and have since revised to save wider stretches of Holcombe and Teignmouth beach, moving the railway away from the most potentially hazardous areas of the cliffs around Sprey Point.
Network rail said it is working hard to find a solution that reduces the impact on the beaches between Holcombe and Teignmouth but still provides a high level of resilience for the railway, this includes an examination of what could be done if the railway is left where it is.
Any future proposal is subject to funding and any consents that may be required.
Of this latest funding round, Mike Gallop, Network Rail’s Western route director, said: “We are delighted to once again receive the support from government, which enables us to carry out the next phase of our resilience work between Dawlish and Teignmouth.
“This will mean that passengers using GWR and CrossCountry services on this vital rail link to and from the South West will have more reliable journeys, as the railway along the Devon coast will be better protected from rising sea levels, extreme weather, landslips and rockfalls for the next 100 years.”
Time Line Dawlish rail collapse: A timeline FEBRUARY 2014The century-old seawall at Dawlish was destroyed by crashing waves, which scooped out hundreds of tonnes of ballast, forcing the evacuation of families from Riviera Terrace and Sea Lawn
MARCH 2014Specialist fire crews set off a controlled landslide above the Dawlish to Teignmouth rail track where workmen battled to reopen the line
APRIL 2014Line reopens with VIP guests including Prime Minister David Cameron
July 2014Herculean efforts by the Orange Army who work day and night to bring the rail line into use are commended
July 2014Network Rail report released. The Government effectively committed itself to spending at least £400million to ensure there is never a repeat of the main Devon and Cornwall railway line collapsing at Dawlish
DECEMBER 2014Chancellor George Osborne criticised for his silence on the rail line in his Autumn Statement
MARCH 2016George Osborne pledged £5 million in the first stage of improvements to the resilience of the line in Budget
AUGUST 2016Network Rail awarded £10 million contract to investigate the coastal cliff frontage in Dawlish to Teignmouth section
OCTOBER 2016Network Rail begins public information events on its investigations and resilience plans
NOVEMBER 2016Peninsula Rail Task Force submits Closing The Gap, its 20-year plan for the region’s railway, to the government
SEPTEMBER 2017Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promises, if the party wins power, to find £600million for rail resilience work at Dawlish while having an all weather bypass route in the future
NOVEMBER 2017Transport minister Jesse Norman says that reopening a railway line avoiding the coast, via Okehampton and Tavistock is a ‘very important potential idea’. It would be in addition to the Dawlish line, he said while visiting Exeter St Davids
JANUARY 2018Peninsula Rail Task Force demands answers after still receiving no Government response to its Closing The Gap report
JANUARY 2018Transport secretary Chris Grayling states that Dawlish is ‘number one national transport priority’ and promises a response to Closing The Gap by the end of February
MARCH 2018Homes in Dawlish evacuated, part of the rail line damaged and seaside cafe washed away during Storm Emma. Transport minister renews pledge to do ‘whatever it takes’ to safeguard Dawlish rail line as councillors hear it is the only economically viable rout
OCTOBER 2018Crosscountry trains through Dawlish are cancelled as Storm Callum batters the region and days later a six-foot sinkhole under the line close to Teignmouth is discovered, closing the mainline
NOVEMBER 2018Work gets under way to improve four breakwaters at Boat Cove, Coastguards Point, Colonnade Underpass and Langstone Rock.
Investigations by Network Rail continue into whether loose material from the clifftop above Parsons Tunnel at Holcombe can be removed to stabilise the cliff and reduce the risk of landslips.
The Government provides £15m for Network Rail to design a long-lasting solution.
NOVEMBER 2018Network Rail reveals £500million long term plans for the rail line. The re-routing of the Dawlish rail line closer to the sea will not see a popular beach lost to the public, it insists.
The causeway option would see the line rebuild from the tunnel at Smugglers’ Lane in Holcombe, out on to the beach past Spray Point, and then would curve back in land towards Teignmouth.
NOVEMBER 2018A nine-month plan of work begins to repair the breakwaters at Dawlish
JUNE 2019The Department for Transport commits £80million for a new sea wall for Dawlish, from Coastguards breakwater to Boat Cove and in summer 2019, work starts on the first section at Marine Parade
OCTOBER 2020Network Rail confirms that it will revise plans for the Parson’s Tunnel – Teignmouth phase of the work that involves building the rail line ‘out to sea’ losing much of Holcombe Beach. There was overwhelming opposition to its plans and a further round of public consultation is scheduled for 2021.
NOVEMBER 2020Work begins on the second section of sea wall between the Coastguard and Colonnade breakwaters, a 415m stretch between the 2014 sea wall work and the current Marine Parade scheme. The WaveWalker Jack-up barge arrives into Dawlish, installing around 280 piles between Dawlish station and the Coastguard breakwater, which will form the foundation of the new sea wall.
AUGUST 2021A project to construct a 209m rockfall shelter extension gets underway north of Parsons Tunnel.
April 2022A further £32 million has been pledged for netting and fencing to protect the line from cliff erosion.
