Kevin Foster, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Torbay, has today (Tuesday 15th July 2014) reacted to the publication of a detailed report by Network Rail examining the options for strengthening rail resilience west of Exeter.
The report was commissioned by the Government earlier this year after storm damage closed the coastal railway at Dawlish severing the main rail link to Devon and Cornwall. The report indicates a number of options for the future, including building new routes or reinstating lines that were closed in the Beeching Era.
Kevin said: “There is a lot to digest in this report and it is welcome to see the Government’s commitment to securing the vital rail links to the bay for the future.
“Whatever decision is taken about an additional route west of Exeter it must be just that, an additional route. It should not be an alternative to the iconic coastal route that provides a vital link to the bay and South Devon.
The debate about it should be focussed on reconnecting communities to the rail network and providing resilience to Dawlish when needed. Not bypassing those towns which rely on the Great Western route.
“Given the timescales for constructing a new railway the immediate focus needs to be on doing what we can to secure the current route and investigating proposals for additional protection such as building a Breakwater at Dawlish. We cannot wait nearly a decade for a solution that will ensure trains can still speed to the west if we see a repeat of the bad weather we had earlier this year.”