Anyone travelling by train?

Unlucky.

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Jesus wept,wonder how long that will take to repair,especially in view of the further storms predicted later on in the week.High time the-powers-that be stopped feckin around with the west country transport links and opened up the line through Okehampton and Tavistock again,this has happened time after time and still nothing has been done.Pathetic.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was never repaired.

Cameron thinks its scenic, he's thinking of the tourists not us though.

Anyway the solution with Dawlish is to build a breakwater with huge stones about a hundred yards in front of it, it would create work and be a natural reef for all sorts of fish and wildlife. And you could probably surf it when the waves were big. Win win.

A solution and a repair? No just the repair.

Greenskin wrote:

Unlucky.

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Jesus wept,wonder how long that will take to repair,especially in view of the further storms predicted later on in the week.

Apparently until Feb 28th going by the official tweets on that link?

Iggy wrote:

Cameron thinks its scenic, he's thinking of the tourists not us though.

Don't be so cynical. Cameron's main concern is for the safety of the people of [wealthy Home Counties types who have second homes in] Devon and Cornwall.

Stop HS2 & redirect the money to fixing the rail link to Plymouth & beyond.

knecht wrote:

Stop HS2 & redirect the money to fixing the rail link to Plymouth & beyond.

Now there's a subject to get the people of the South West chomping at the bit. There have been warnings for 20 years that sooner or later the sea would have it's way with the rail line at Dawlish. Every time there's a major accident on the M5 the SW is almost cut off. There are massive traffic holdups on the A303 every year. The railway at Cowley bridge in Exeter needs major works because of flooding. The Somerset Levels have suffered two, once in a hundred year floods in two years. The South West's road network is falling to pieces with even major routes like the M5 suffering from potholes and breaking up that would never have been seen a few years ago.

Massive investment is required in our existing infrastructure just for the South West to stand still but our government wants to spend billions of pounds just so businessmen can get from Birmingham to London 20 minutes faster.

Personally I would like to be able to drive from Ashburton to Bristol without risking damaging my car on M5's potholes.

I think/hope that HS2 will bite them on the bum and they will be forced into a humiliating back-track though it may be left to Labour to do the deed.

And you can gaurantee the £30 billion quoted will turn into £100 billion by the end of it.

Do we have any suggestions for a solution to the railway link problem?

Can we re-route? If so via where?

How about building a stonking great breakwater so that the worst of the attack on the line at Dawlish is ameliorated?

Maybe a massive tunnel under Haldon Hill?

I don't know what the solution is but there must be one. So what might it be?

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Do we have any suggestions for a solution to the railway link problem?

Can we re-route? If so via where?

How about building a stonking great breakwater so that the worst of the attack on the line at Dawlish is ameliorated?

Maybe a massive tunnel under Haldon Hill?

I don't know what the solution is but there must be one. So what might it be?

Open an airport in Plymouth. Oh wait...  

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Do we have any suggestions for a solution to the railway link problem?

Can we re-route? If so via where?

How about building a stonking great breakwater so that the worst of the attack on the line at Dawlish is ameliorated?

Maybe a massive tunnel under Haldon Hill?

I don't know what the solution is but there must be one. So what might it be?

Re-open the Okehampton - Tavistock route so that trains can be diverted when necessary. Rebuild the Dawlish section with an improved and larger sea wall. This will cost money and a doubt the Tories have the stomach for it.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Do we have any suggestions for a solution to the railway link problem?

Can we re-route? If so via where?

How about building a stonking great breakwater so that the worst of the attack on the line at Dawlish is ameliorated?

Maybe a massive tunnel under Haldon Hill?

I don't know what the solution is but there must be one. So what might it be?

I think you'll find that the breakwater was my idea. Either you don't read my posts or you have me on ignore.   

When is this bleddy rain going to stop? We're all doooooomed!!!

pepsipete wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Do we have any suggestions for a solution to the railway link problem?

Can we re-route? If so via where?

How about building a stonking great breakwater so that the worst of the attack on the line at Dawlish is ameliorated?

Maybe a massive tunnel under Haldon Hill?

I don't know what the solution is but there must be one. So what might it be?

Re-open the Okehampton - Tavistock route so that trains can be diverted when necessary. Rebuild the Dawlish section with an improved and larger sea wall.  This will cost money and a doubt the Tories have the stomach for it.

I agree with you about the solution to the problem but [speaking as pretty much an apolitical person],Labour haven't exactly come up smelling of roses in regards to the destruction of the railway system or it's prospective rebuilding.Labour were in power in 1968 when the Southern line to Plymouth was sawn off between Okehampton and Bere Alston and in spite of their promise in the 1964 election manifesto,they did piss all to halt the closure of the line or many others such as the Great Central,Somerset and Dorset or Waverley routes,which would have been worth their weight in gold today.In the latter case,the Scottish parliament have shown how it should be done-half the line is currently being rebuilt from Galashiels to Edinburgh-it would seem that devolved power works in this regard because more than one line in Wales has been successfully reopened.I can't honestly remember Labour in their years of power from 1997 onwards paying any more than lip service to improving the transport links to the westcountry- governments of all hues have been warned for many years what would happen at Dawlish eventually.Must admit that previously my views on global warming were slightly cynical but those pictures at Dawlish and other places were an eye opener and if the theory of climate change is correct,then it isn't going to get any better at Dawlish-esential in my view for the Okehampton-BA section to be reopened ASAP.

Network Rail are being very optimistic with their time scales,in my opinion,if they are looking to get the line open in a few weeks.those houses look like they are going to tumble at any time and need to be demolished.Long term I dont expect any radical re routing of railway routes,it will be make and mend as per usual.governments,whatever party have never invested in the south west rail network,they aint going to start now...

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Whilst Im not going to say global warming isn't happening I think that it is being used to cover up major lack of maintenance over the years. Also in these storms damage does occour it always has done. It needs to be repaired and the cost of repairing it should on the whole be paid for by all the owners of the network nationally. If it were the M1 that had a section washed out by a river it would be fixed with all haste and the costs worried about afterwards.

army being called in to help.

Excellent. Just what this structural debacle needs, more squaddies.

Yer's the report;

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Doesn't rule out the reopening of the LSWR route through Okehampton and Tavistock as was stated by the dozy local papers recently,in fact it compares favourably with all the other options discussed IMHO,cheaper than any proposed new inland route and more feasible than the Teign Valley line.If the relevant authorities can put a case forward which extols the massive benefits to Okey,Tavvy and West Devon and East/North East Cornwall,then who knows,something may be done.66% contingency built into the costings-fook me!