Fighting the Fight against flooding on Devon and Cornwall’s railways

There is considerable debate about the causes of, and future predictions for, climate change. But what is not in any doubt is that our weather has become more unpredictable and extreme.

The South West of England has always suffered more than most and the railway has always been at the forefront of meeting the challenge. In 2014, a serious breach of the sea wall at Dawlish caused the railway to be closed for 2 months whilst it, and the sea wall, were rebuilt. 2026 provided an opportunity for the defences to be tested like never before with multiple named storms that battered the region.

The Main Lines held up well and were quickly reopened. The branch lines were not so fortunate and the lines to Barnstaple, Okehampton, Looe and Newquay were closed for extended periods. The Tarka Line from Exeter to Barnstaple was closed for around 24 days between January 27th and February 20th, yet this is no sleepy branch line but a vitally important community railway carrying almost 1 million passengers a year, that’s a serious problem.

I was keen to see what was being done to address the problem and so at the kind invitation of Network Rail, I travelled down to Devon and Cornwall to have a look first hand.

The mixture of collaborative working and new technology I saw first hand was really impressive….

Credits: Thumbnail image - Balfour Beatty

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