Britain’s Department for Transport announced the completion of the works for sea wall protection on the Dawlish rail route, due to a GBP 82 million (EUR 95.4 million) governmental investment. The project will deliver passengers in South West England a new station and more reliable train journeys.
In a visit to Devon on 3 July 2023, the Transport Secretary Mark Harper is attending the event at Dawlish station to mark the completion of the wall and officially open a brand-new railway station at Marsh Barton, near Exeter, 2 projects that will boost local and regional connections, helping grow the economy.
“I am delighted to see the completion of two major projects, delivering a government commitment to improve a vital rail route for passengers in the South West. These projects demonstrate a government that is delivering our promises, investing in vital infrastructure and improving transport connections to help grow the economy,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper said.
The new, rebuilt sea wall will protect the safety of local passengers from extreme weather conditions along the coast. It has been completed in two phases, with the latter stage protecting the grade two listed Dawlish train station.
The completion of the works marks a major milestone of the GBP 165 million (EUR 192 million) South West Resilience Programme and will offer a promenade and new public areas for the local community. Ongoing work by Network Rail also continues to develop a new, accessible footbridge with lifts at Dawlish station. Further cliff protection work, to deliver two additional phases of the programme, continues at pace including a rockfall shelter at Holcombe, along the coast from Dawlish.
In April 2022, the British government delivered an additional funding of GBP 32 million (EUR 37.2 million) and in November, the rail infrastructure manager selected BAM Nuttall to design the resilience measures to be implemented on the rail route between Dawlish and Holcombe, south Devon.
The work on Dawlish rail route is a governmental commitment to create a more resilient railway following devastating storms in 2014, which damaged the tracks beyond use for 8 weeks and disconnected passengers from the network.
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