Work to protect Dawlish mainline 'on hold'

Work to protect the Paddington to Penzance mainline at Dawlish in Devon has been put on hold, the government has announced.

Ministers said they had "already invested significantly in securing the cliffs and making the coastline more resilient in the South West and need to focus our investment on other projects around the country".

In February 2014, severe storm damage severed the line at Dawlish, leading to its closure for eight weeks.

Temporary repairs have since been followed by substantial resilience work, including a new seawall at Dawlish itself and a rock shelter to protect the track from cliff falls north of Parson's Tunnel.

But the fifth and final stage to secure the cliffs from Parson's Tunnel to Teignmouth remains outstanding, which the government has put on hold.

In a letter to South West MPs in December, Rail Minister Lord Hendy said this fifth and final phase of work was expected to cost "substantially more than the other four phases combined".

"I think it's devastating", said Martin Wrigley, Liberal Democrat MP for Newton Abbot, whose seat includes Dawlish and Teignmouth.

"This isn't just about building a new railway, this is about safety, it's about securing the economy of the South West.

"Last time, in 2014, when the cliff came down it was that which closed it for eight weeks, it was that which cost the economy £1.2bn.

"We were just lucky it didn't come down on a train, that would have been desperately bad and if we end up in that situation, it's going to be awful."

The government added: "We will keep this scheme under review as the preliminary works complete and for funding at future fiscal events."

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