DAWLISH RAIL TIMELINE
FEBRUARY 2014
The 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 2014
Specialist fire crews set off a controlled landslide above the Dawlish to Teignmouth rail track where workmen battled to reopen the line.
APRIL 2014
Line reopens with VIP guests including Prime Minister David Cameron.
JULY 2014
Herculean efforts by the Orange Army who work day and night to bring the rail line into use are commended.
Network 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 2014
Chancellor George Osborne criticised for his silence on the rail line in his Autumn Statement.
MARCH 2016
George Osborne pledged £5 million in the first stage of improvements to the resilience of the line in Budget. AUGUST 2016
Network Rail awarded £10 million contract to investigate the coastal cliff frontage in Dawlish to Teignmouth section.
OCTOBER 2016
Network Rail begins public information events on its investigations and resilience plans. NOVEMBER 2016
Peninsula Rail Task Force submits Closing The Gap, its 20-year plan for the region’s railway, to the government.
SEPTEMBER 2017
Labour 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 2017
Transport 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 2018
Peninsula Rail Task Force demands answers after still receiving no Government response to its Closing The Gap report
Transport 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 2018
Homes 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 route. OCTOBER 2018
Crosscountry 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 2018
Work 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. Network 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 rebuilt 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.
A nine-month plan of work begins to repair the breakwaters at Dawlish. JUNE 2019
The 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 2020
Network 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 further public consultation scheduled for 2021.
NOVEMBER 2020
Work 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.