Comment

Andrea Davis, Chairman, Peninsula Rail Task Force

We welcome Network Rail’s announcement that it’s investing £35 million to develop a new sea wall to protect this vital section of Devon’s rail network at Dawlish.

Our local economy needs this line to be resilient, and I’m sure everyone will be pleased to see that there is now a course of action which has been assessed by specialists to take into account predicted rising sea levels.

Not only will the plan make the rail line more resilient at Dawlish, the proposed sea wall will also provide protection to properties which are vulnerable in the event of a failure of the current sea wall.

No doubt, everyone involved in this project would have wanted to deliver it much sooner, but there has been a considerable amount of work in bringing this application together. Once the new sea wall is developed, hopefully it will mean the line is protected at Dawlish, giving confidence to rail users in the South West.”