Great Western: Dawlish defences move forward

WITH THE FIRST PHASE OF COASTAL RESILIENCE WORK NEARLY COMPLETE, MORE IS IN THE PIPELINE, AS PHILIP SHERRATT REPORTS

Exeter to Newton Abbot is one of the most iconic stretches of railway in the UK. But it is also vulnerable to inclement weather, an issue Network Rail’s programme of coastal resilience works is aiming to address, with the first phase at Dawlish nearly complete.

The programme was prompted by the storms in early 2014 which washed away the railway, highlighting the fragility of the only rail link serving south Devon and continuing into Cornwall. Network Rail identified priority interventions where the risk of damage to the railway was greatest and has developed a programme in five phases to address these.

DAWLISH FIRST

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