Dawlish railway: One year on

Today (5 February) marks the one year anniversary of the severe storms which battered the Devon coastline, and washed away part of the Dawlish railway line and sea-wall.

Twelve months later, Network Rail’s ‘orange army’ of engineers has rebuilt the railway, enabling train services to run through Dawlish for the past 10 months, and has continued working around the clock to bolster and improve its defences for the local community and businesses alike.

A year ago, as turbulent storms washed away part of the railway line, Network Rail’s team was on the scene immediately The 300-strong ‘orange army’ then committed to battling the elements to get the railway line up and running before Easter, two weeks ahead of schedule. With part of a new sea wall now built, 25,000 tonnes of collapsed cliff evacuated and repairs to dozens of sites along the three mile stretch of coastal railway; Dawlish connects businesses, residents and tourists to the West Country and beyond.

Tom Kirkham, project manager at Network Rail, said: “The scale of the damage we encountered when we first arrived on site was unprecedented. One year on we have fixed the damage and are also improving the railway in the south west through this vital connection for local people, businesses and tourists. I would like to thank our team for their huge commitment to this project - their skills and thinking have been vital to the success so far.

“I would also like to thank the local community and passengers for their continued patience and support, and reassure them that our staff are working round-the-clock to complete this essential improvement work as quickly and safely as possible.”
Network Rail is currently operating two mobile mini 'oil rig' platforms on the beach, to act as a base from which the ‘orange army’ can work, minimising disruption to passengers and local residents.

Current activity includes:

• Fully restoring the signalling and electronic equipment
• Removing the temporary sea-wall made of shipping containers
• Restoring and improving the public footpath on the sea wall so residents will be able to use it at high tide (previously, this wasn't possible)

Key milestones over the last 12 months include:

• Protecting homes by building a temporary sea wall out of 19 welded shipping containers
• Rebuilding and fortifying the 80 metre breach in Dawlish with more than 6,000 tonnes of concrete and 150 tonnes of steel
• Removing 25,000 tonnes of collapsed cliff at Teignmouth, following a landslip on 4 March 2014[1],
• Repairing dozens of other sites along a four mile stretch of coastal railway, clearing hundreds of tonnes of debris and repairing over 600 metres of parapet wall
• Installing over 13 miles of new cables, designing and installing a new temporary signalling system and replacing over 700 metres of track and ballast
• Rebuilding Dawlish station with a new platform, new canopy and repainting throughout with the finishing touches provided by TV gardener, Toby Buckland, and members of the ‘Friends of Dawlish station’

On the first anniversary of the notorious storms at Dawlish, time-lapse photography shows the extensive work undertaken by Network Rail’s ‘orange army’ over the last year to restore the south west’s rail connection and make the area more resilient for the future.

The improvement works are due for completion by spring this year.