Dawlish line closure demonstrates need for a diversionary route
A NIGHTTIME closure of the Great Western Main Line between Exeter and Teignmouth for engineering work, has again demonstrated the economic risk to the West Country of there being no alternative route available when closure of this vulnerable route section takes place.
For an eight-week period between January 24 and March 17, overnight possession is resulting in the cancellation of the ‘Night Riviera’ sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance on Monday to Thursday nights in both directions. The overnight trains continue to operate on Friday and Sunday nights in accordance with the timetable.
Late evening connections between London and the West Country are also disrupted as it is necessary to use a replacement bus service from Exeter in lieu of scheduled trains.
An immediate observation is that it brings into question Network Rail’s pledge of maintaining a 24x7 railway which it planned to achieve by investing in technology that allowed single line working when work was being undertaken on an adjacent running line.
The need to close the railway has brought into sharp and possibly unwelcome focus the lack of a diversionary route. It’s a complete change of thinking from an earlier perception that having a duplicate route was wasteful in terms of resources and relates to attitudes towards engineering methods in a previous generation that were not mechanised, with a tolerance of risk to track workers undertaking work without closing adjacent lines.
Current engineering methods and safety requirements continue to lead to disruptive route closures which decimate passenger numbers as soon as the words ‘replacement bus service’ are mentioned, with potential customers subsequently largely avoiding rail travel.
The closure of route to the West Country in 2014, due to storm damage, illustrated the vulnerability of the coastal line which has resulted in a resilience programme being put in place by NR which is the cause of the nighttime closure. Whether this work will be sufficient to prevent future weather-related closures is debateable, particularly as more severe weather is predicted as a result of climate change.
Alternative route alignments were evaluated after the damage that occurred in 2014, with an inland tunnel option considered that was costed at £3 billion, and reopening the former route via Okehampton and Tavistock costed at £875 million, although this included a specification for 125mph running.
This estimate overshadowed stakeholder suggestions for reopening based on providing a community service with a less ambitious line speed, but did include a new chord at Cowley Junction so that trains did not have to reverse at Exeter.