Dismay as government halts vital Devon rail project

The government’s decision to put crucial work to protect Devon’s fragile railway line on hold has been described as ‘devastating’ by a local MP.

Devon and Cornwall MPs had been lobbying ministers to make sure the fifth and final phase of the project to protect the railway line at Dawlish and Teignmouth was completed.
Network Rail has already completed four phases of work to make the vulnerable seaside line more resilient, including a new sea wall and extensive work on the station at Dawlish.
But MPs and rail experts stressed that the final stage – to shore up cliffs between Dawlish and Teignmouth – was the most important of all.
Cliff falls in the area are a regular occurrence, and Newton Abbot MP Martin Wrigley, who lives in Dawlish, said it was only a matter of time before the next fall closed the line again.
The railway line was closed for eight weeks when it was wiped out by a storm in February 2014, and Mr Wrigley pointed out that most of that time was spent repairing the collapsing cliffs.
Despite pressure from MPs from across the region, the government has now made the announcement that the project will be stalled.
It says it has already invested significantly in securing the cliffs and making the coastline more resilient, and needs to focus its investment on other projects around the country.
The fifth phase would cost an estimated £80million.
Mr Wrigley said the consequences of a cliff fall coming down on a train would be ‘desperately bad’.
The government says it will keep the scheme under review, but Mr Wrigley said he was bitterly disappointed.
He said: “This is a massive blow to the economy of the South West. Last time when the cliff fell it cost the South West economy £1.2billion.
“Keeping strain gauges on the cliff and managing that is not enough. It will be a catastrophic failure when that cliff comes down.”