![]() It cane amid growing frustration from the task force who say they have waited too long for a response and even longer for action to shore up the vulnerable stretch. Transport secretary told South West MPs the vulnerable Dawlish main line was ‘the number one priority’ (Image: Andy Styles) ![]() Mr Grayling also promised to respond by the end of February to the Peninsula Rail Task Force’s Closing The Gap report on the region’s network, which was delivered to the Department for Transport in November 2016. In February this year, transport secretary Chris Grayling told South West MPs that the vulnerable Dawlish main line was ‘the number one national transport priority’, and promised a significant increase in track upgrades and an increase in maintenance spending. We do know it will happen but what we don’t know is when.” Mr Burnell said: “Do nothing and it is a recipe for failure. GWR Rail chaos causes major disruptions for passengers in Devon and Cornwall - latest updatesĪnd within as little as 50 years the main rail line could be hit by severe weather once in every four years instead of the present one in 25.One hundred year forecasting carried out for Network Rail reveals that the kind of storm that caused such devastation could well become more than a yearly occurrence. Julian Burnell, senior communications manager for Network Rail, said: “The Dawlish emergency showed how vulnerable the route was and we knew in the midst of such high economic cost, that it could not happen again.” Then, £35million and a month later, Prime Minister David Cameron took the first train into town to see the work for himself. ![]() In the aftermath, the Westcountry was effectively cut off, with costs to the economy estimated at £1.2billion. It was only hours before the route was due to re-open engineers managed to clear a landslip
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |