Limited Trains Resume as Safety Checks Completed on Dawlish Sea Wall Route

Engineers have confirmed that the main railway route serving the south-west of England is safe to use again after storm damage forced its closure along the coast at Dawlish. Limited train services have now resumed following detailed safety checks.

Network Rail said inspections of what it described as “safety critical” sections of the line had been completed, allowing a restricted service to operate through Dawlish. The route had been shut after severe weather caused parts of the adjacent sea wall to collapse.

Storm Ingrid struck the south Devon coast on Saturday, leading to the failure of the sea wall at two locations. The storm also caused wider damage in the town, with a historic pier and nearby homes affected, and clean-up operations continuing in the aftermath.

The scale of the disruption prompted Network Rail to issue a black alert, its highest warning level. This has only been declared once before, when storms in February 2014 destroyed parts of the railway at Dawlish and severed rail links to the region for an extended period.

James Crook from Network Rail said:

"We've had a lot of people out on track in some pretty trying conditions. It might take a little bit longer than normal. The priority is making sure we can get things back up and normal for Monday. There were a number of issues on the track, including ballast which had washed away. There will be some work going on throughout the week. It was not only the heavy wind and the rain, it was also the high tide on Friday evening. All of those things combining together had a strong impact on the railway."

Image: Network Rail