Opening up abandoned railway corridor through Devon is being considered by Government, which may look at building an additional rail route to Cornwall following collapse of a coastal line at Dawlish last week.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has ordered his officials to compile a report looking at ways to make the South West’s rail network more resilient in times of bad weather. He is also set to be quizzed by the Transport Select Committee on the matter on 25 February.

This follows dramatic scenes last week where high tides breached a section of sea wall at Dawlish, washing away ballast and foundations from beneath the railway.

One option on the table is to reinstate railway from Okehampton to Tavistock to the west of Dartmoor National Park, providing an alternative route between Plymouth and Exeter.

Two alternative suggestions are to reopen a line through the Teign Valley and to create a rail bypass near Dawlish.

“We need a long term solution; it doesn’t make sense to have a strategic rail route to the South West running along the seaside,” said Plymouth Chamber of Commerce chief executive David Parlby, who called for a new section of railway to be built inland of Dawlish.

But CIHT Council member and Cornish based independent consultant Peter Swain said rerouting the railway inland from its current location would be very challenging. “Brunel chose his route alongside the coast because it was flat and level,” he said. “I would like to see sea defenses improved and there could be scope for off shore protection to that part of the coast such as an artificial reef to reduce the impact of the waves.”

Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris also favoured strengthening sea defenses at Dawlish. “We should be reinforcing the line that currently exists which given modern technology is perfectly possible,” she said. “The most important thing is to have a railway up and running soon. We cannot wait for 10 years to build another route.”

Devon County Council transport policy officer Matt Barnes added: “First and foremost we need a commitment to the future of that line at Dawlish for the benefit of local communities and passengers.”

(Photo: Network Rail)

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